BLAD of RWBY and JNPR: Scattered Symphony
by Black Fuego
Summary: The second semester has begun and things have started to become even crazier for teams RWBY, JNPR and BLAD. From dealing with Torchwick and the White Fang to preparing for the Vytal Festival and many things in between, the three teams are in for quite a ride, forging new bonds and testing old ones. Will they survive? Prepare yourselves, for the Scattered Symphony is about to begin.
1. Kicking Off with a Bang

Hey guys. Black Fuego here with the revived and revised chapter 1 of The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR, Scattered Symphony. I wasn't really expecting to come back to this story after discontinuing it, but now I'm here, and this time, I'm back for good. I know I promised that Second Verse would be the actual sequel, but I ended up going in the wrong direction with it and what I ended up was not something that I had hoped for. Thankfully, I never bothered to delete this story, so Scattered Symphony will get the proper work done to it to make it more refined and match the small number of changes that I've made in the first BLAD of RWBY and JNPR. This time, I'm in it for the long run, and I will not be giving up on this story. I've got a hopefully decent plan that will make this story successful. What that plan is, you'll learn once all the revisions have been made. Until then, folks, here's the first revised chapter and I hope you guys still liked it!

Disclaimer: I don't own the RWBY series nor any other series that may have been mentioned in this fic. I am, however, the proud owner of a completed National Pokedex in my Alpha Sapphire and a pair of shiny pokemon that have been very good to me so far and I am proud of them. Greninja, Hawlucha, you two rock!

The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR II: Scattered Symphony

Chapter 1: Kicking Off with a Bang (Revised)

The city of Vale, a bustling place named after the very kingdom it is located in. Very few are not aware of this place, for it is home to many well-known establishments and festivities, the biggest of them being the prestigious Beacon Academy and the world famous Vytal Festival respectively. Humans and Faunus from all over the world and in all ages are either heading their way to the capital city or are already there, either to enjoy the upcoming festival or attend class at Beacon for the new semester as part of the school's exchange program for the upcoming tournament being held at the end of the school year. Due to all the people coming, the citizens of the city were working furiously to make sure their home was in the best condition for the multitude of visitors they were going to have.

One such citizen was the owner of a small shop named From Dust Till Dawn, who was commonly called the Shopkeep. The old, bald man, who wore a simple green shirt with matching pants over a red apron, was standing on a ladder and finishing up with a sign he just put on his store, a re-opening sign. Due to an incident involving a bunch of felons in suits and a kid in a red hood many months ago, the old man had to close shop for a while to get everything fixed up. It took a while, especially with all the Dust robberies lately, but the man was finally ready to re-open his store. He was so happy that he even brought his granddaughter in to work with him, even if she wasn't able to help out all that much.

"Hey, Grampa? Are you almost done with the sign?" A young girl no older than eight, with black hair in a bun and green hairband and a dark green dress, asked impatiently, wanting to get this day over with.

"Almost done, sweetie. Just got to straighten it a little more…" The old man replied, grabbing the sign a moved it a little, before removing himself from it and gave himself a satisfied nod. He then turned his head down to the child and smiled warmly. "Alright, Lin, I finished. How does it look?"

"…Are you seriously asking me this, Grampa?" The child, now known as Lin, drawled before pointing at her eyes, which were grey and blank. "I'm blind, remember? I can't see worth jack and you're asking me if I think it looks good? I think you're going senile, old man…"

"Hahaha, maybe. I am quite old, after all," The Shopkeep chuckled as he began climbing down the ladder, "Now then, since I finished, how about we head inside and get some ice-Whoa ooh! WHOA!"

_*Crash!*_

"…You have the worst luck ever, Grampa, you know that?" Lin drawled, well aware that her grandfather fell off his ladder, and was about to pick him up when she began hearing an unfamiliar voice talking towards their direction

"Tehehe, sorry…"

Turning to the sound of the voice, the old man looked up to see a beautiful looking dark skinned girl with short, mint green hair, red eyes, an intricate green and white top with matching pants and an image of a gem on the back of her top, a pair of heels and what looked like a pair of guns holstered on the back of her pants. The girl gave the man an apologetic smile before lending her arm to help the fallen shopkeep.

"I'm not really from around here…" She said as she helped the man up before reaching into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, which she showed to him, "Um…would you mind pointing me to the direction of this shop?"

"Hmm…?" The man grunted curiously as he stared at the name and address of the shop on the paper, trying to remember where it is, when his granddaughter decided to speak up.

"Hey Grampa? What does the lady want?" Lin asked, causing the red eyed girl to blink in surprise, not noticing the blind child earlier.

"Oh, she's just looking for a shop, sweetie. Nothing to worry about," The shopkeep replied while looking at the child while the elder girl simply smiled and kneeled down to her.

"Yeah…I'm having a little trouble finding a certain store, so I'm asking your grandpa for help," She admitted sheepishly while reaching behind her again and pulled out a large green lollipop and showed it to the child. "You want a treat? I always have the biggest lollipops in the world with me. I'm sure you've never seen anything like this before."

"Well…considering that I'm blind and can't see anything, let alone the lollypop you're trying to give me, I'll take your word for it, lady," Lin drawled, surprising the girl before her, before shaking her head to deny the treat. "Thanks for the candy, lady, but I'm not the biggest fan of sweets. I like more meaty food to be honest."

"Oh…well…ok then…" The girl muttered uncomfortably as she pocketed her lollypop, feeling a little embarrassed for not noticing the child's state, before standing up and turned to the old man, "So do you know where the shop is, sir?"

"Uh huh. It's only a few blocks from here. It's not that hard to miss." The shopkeep explained while pointing to the direction of the area in question. "I'll lead you to the street where it's at, as a thank you for helping me."

"Ah, I'd appreciate that," The girl smiled brightly, happy to have met someone to help her, before following the old man and his granddaughter to the street she was looking for.

Once there, the girl began waving goodbye to the duo, her smile turning sheepish when she remembered that the girl was blind and couldn't see her wave, before turning around and headed down the streets. Now knowing where to go, she began heading towards her destination, a small smile on her face as she walked, before she began scowling when a familiar voice came to her ears.

"I knew you were lost…"

Growling in annoyance, the girl turned behind her to see a handsome looking man leaning on a brick wall nearby, staring at her with amused grey eyes, dark silver hair, a black and grey jacket with matching pants and a pair of boots that had what looked like a small bullet bandolier inside of them. Easily recognizing the look, the red eyed girl stomped over towards him while reaching into her pocket once more to reach for something.

"Mercury… I will seriously pay you to shut up…" She growled while waving a wallet to the man's face, who only shook his head in amusement.

"That's not your money…" Mercury stated, knowing that she stole the wallet from the man who helped her.

"But it could be yours for five minutes of silence," She pressed, waving the wallet around, hoping that he would accept the bribe, before grabbing the lollipop she tried to get the blind girl earlier and began waving it as well. "I'll even throw in one of my Emerald Pops as a bonus…"

"Mmm…" The man hummed, seemingly contemplating on whether or not to make the choice, before shaking his head once more, "No deal. Besides, your lollies can rot the teeth off a dentist in one bite. I'd rather keep my pearly whites, thank you very much."

"Hmph… Fine." The girl scowled as she took the money out of the wallet and tossed the empty money vessel into the ground, irritated at her failure before storming away from the amused silver haired guy.

"Whatever… You want me…" He quipped before heading over towards the unamused girl with a chuckle, before turning to her curiously, "So how much farther?"

"A few blocks," The girl replied, causing her companion to groan in boredom.

"Ugh, this place is so dull…" Mercury complained.

"Eh, I kinda like it…" The dark skinned beauty admitted, "Tall buildings, diverse culture-"

"And nice, dopey people who are easy to pickpocket…" Her companion spoke up with a smirk.

"That's every city…" She stated, stopping to stare at the man in annoyance with her hands on her hips.

"Oh Emerald! Master Thief! Please don't take my money! I barely have enough to get by…" Mercury pleaded mockingly, complete with his arms out towards the unamused thief before him and looking down despairingly before looking up at his now infuriated companion's face with a small, amused smile.

The now identified Emerald groaned and scowled at him, wanting nothing more to beat the look on his face with her tooth rotting lollipop, before shaking her head and began walking away from Mercury, who let off a sigh of disappointment at her departing form.

"You're no fun today…"

A short while later the two arrived at where they were looking for, a large bookstore. The two entered and were greeted by the sight of piles of books and the sound of humming, most likely coming from the owner of the store, and Mercury had to smirk at the song he was hearing.

"Hmm…Blood Gulch Blues eh? The guy has good taste," The silver haired man muttered, while looking at the books near the door.

Emerald, on the other hand, continued on towards the counter, frowning when she sees no one there. Noticing a service bell, the red eyed girl decided to ring it, and began waiting patiently for a response. Thankfully she didn't have to wait for long…

"Be right there!"

The pair stared at each other, pleased about the response, when a large man carrying a couple stacks of books appeared from the door behind the counter. From the back the pair could see that he was wearing a beige shirt with dark pants, black hair with some sideburns and, from what they heard, a quite polite man.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun!" The man greeted as he set the books down on the counter before checking out his new customers, "How may I…?"

The man's eyes went wide slightly and gasped quietly at the sight of the pair, causing them to mentally smirk to themselves as they knew the man had recognized them. Taking a very quick moment to recompose himself, the man smiled once more and continued to greet the pair.

"How may I help you?" He asked politely.

"Just browsin'," Mercury responded, looking away from the open book in his hand before closing it shut.

"Actually…I was wondering…" Emerald spoke up as she leaned towards the counter. "Do you have any copies of _The Thief and the Butcher_?"

"Yes we do…" The amber eyed man nodded.

"That's great!" The red eyed girl smiled, confusing the man before her.

"Would you…like a copy?" He asked unsurely.

"No. Just wondering," She admitted, turning around when she and the bookstore owner heard Mercury close another book, before speaking up once more. "Oh! Oh! What about…_Violet's Garden_ in paperback?"

"He's got it." Mercury stated while bringing out said book and waved it at the pair. "Hardback too."

"Ooh…options are nice," Emerald said with a grin, her arms crossed and a finger on her face, happy about the knowledge.

"Eh…no pictures," The silver colored teen muttered uncaringly before closing it and turned to the owner once more. "Hey! Do you have any comics?"

"Near the front." The man replied.

"Oh! No, wait!" Emerald spoke up again, catching their attention. "What about…_Third Crusade_?"

The book owner, caught off guard by the request, had to take a moment to respond. As he took a moment, the pair of customers stared at him expectedly, waiting for his response.

"Umm…" The man began slowly. "I… Don't believe we carry that one."

*_slam!*_

"Oh." Mercury muttered, slamming another book shut before he spoke.

"What was this place called again?" Emerald asked amusingly as she leaned on the counter once more.

"Tukson's Book Trade," The man replied calmly.

"And…you're Tukson?" She continued.

"That's right." He confirmed.

"So then I take it that you're the one who came up with the catchphrase?" Emerald summarized, getting off the table as she spoke.

"Yes," Tukson nodded.

"And…what was it again?" Mercury asked this time.

The bookstore owner sighed in resignation before responding calmly once more, "Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."

"Except the _Third Crusade._" The silver teen pointed out.

"It's just a catchphrase," The man muttered.

"It's false advertising!" Mercury countered.

"You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson," Emerald spoke up, a small, sinister smile on her face as Mercury went and dimmed the lights, before continuing on. "I hear you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo. Your brothers in the White Fang wouldn't be happy with that."

Mercury smirked as he continued to dim the lights. He enjoyed what he was doing and was getting kind of excited for what might happen. He didn't know what was going to go on next, but he had a feeling, and as he dimmed the last light, he stared at Tukson, his own sinister smile visible even in the dimness of the store.

"And neither are we." Emerald finished.

"_Damn. Just as I feared._" Tukson thought, angry with himself as he began staring coldly at the pair before him.

"You know who we are, don't you?" Emerald asked.

"Yes." The now revealed Faunus said.

"And…you know why we're here?"

"Yes."

Both Emerald and Mercury smirked coldly at Tukson, taking a bit of pleasure at the sight of their target, the defiance in and coldness in his eyes and voice as he spoke. Mercury walked up to the counter as Emerald began to ask the last question, but both knew what his answer to it will be.

"So. Are you going to fight back?"

Tukson glared fiercely at the pair, knowing full well that this will not end well with him in the end. He had two choices to make and neither were all that good; either turn himself in or fight. He knew what he had to do. He made the decision the moment he recognized the pair enter the store, and mentally prepared himself, for he knew it would be his last stand.

"YES!"

Revealing his claws, the Faunus leaped onto his counter, causing his two enemies to jump back a bit for safety. He began crouching, and was about to leap into action when one last thought went through his mind.

"_I knew I should've told Boss about them. I guess this what they call karma…_" The man thought wryly before steeling himself. "_Well, if it's a fight they want, it's a fight they'll get!_"

With a roar, the man leaped off the counter and attempted to slash Emerald's face off. Unfortunately for him, she ducked just in time, and the man was helpless when he noticed Mercury in front of him, looking ready to kick his face. He saw the bullets in his greaves, and knew then and there he what was about to happen next.

"_Sorry, Boss. Guess I won't be able to meet you for dinner after all…_"

*_BANG!*_

-A few minutes later-

Their job done, the pair exited the book store and Emerald stretched a little for a job well done. She then turned to Mercury, who had a comic in his hand, and began questioning about it.

"What is that?"

Mercury shrugged, knowing she was going to ask that, and responded nonchalantly, "I like the pictures."

With a shrug, the pair began walking away from the store, Mercury closing the comic in his hand, and started heading towards their boss. As they left, neither of them noticed the black bat that was standing upside down from the sign of the store, nor the fact that it began flying away shortly after they left. And if they turned around, they would've noticed an orange kitten with a blue collar around its neck looking around the block curiously before stopping at the book store. Its ears twitched a bit and its blue eyes focused on the building for a moment before deciding to enter it, not knowing the sight it was going to see.

-Meanwhile, Beacon Dining Hall-

"_Hmmm… It's been a long time since I've seen him. Since I've associated with them. I wonder what they're up to…_" Blake thought to herself as she stared at her notebook, which was filled with notes and images of not only the White Fang emblem, but a rose not like her leader's emblem and an image of a sword wielding man with his back facing towards her. She, like the rest of her friends, were wearing their school uniforms and enjoying their lunch at the cafeteria. It was buffet day and practically every student was their enjoying whatever they wanted to eat, while Blake was focusing on the notebook before her. So engrossed was she, that she wasn't noticing her partner leaning towards her until they were shoulder to shoulder.

"Whatcha doin'?" Yang asked curiously, amused by the startled expression on her feline friend's face.

"Nothing. Just going over notes from last semester." Blake replied calmly as she closed her book, causing Weiss, who was sitting beside her and Levy, who was sitting in front of her, to stare at her in respect and approval

_*fwew!*_

_*chomp!*_

"Lame!" The brawler's muffled voice stated, her mouth filled with food, and the three girls turned to the next table see Nora and Ash giggling, the mischief making trio enjoying themselves with orange bomber launching green grapes at the blonde brawler's mouth, with the red headed powerhouse sitting in front of her with other food in his tray. Beside the bomber were the rest of her team and her bow wielding friend, with Ren beside her and Pyrrha and Jaune sitting together next to him. Dia, on the other hand, was sitting next to her partner enjoying a plate of lemon meringue pie that Levy made for her earlier. The quartet stared back at them, amused by their surprised reactions, when Nora placed another grape on her spoon and was about to launch it at her friend's mouth before Ash leaned towards her.

The shotgunner began whispering into the grenadier's ear, pointing at a certain spot in front of the fencer, and all turned to the direction to see a certain napping ninja with his head down, an empty tray beside him and snoozing away without a care in the world. Realizing what the two were plaining to do, Yang began nodding furiously at Nora, who grinned widely in response and changed her target from the brawler's mouth to the ninja's head, specifically the top of his head, where his glasses were located at.

"Uh, hey guys?" Weiss spoke up, "I don't think this is a-"

Before she had a chance to finish, Nora fired, the small fruit zooming off the spoon and hitting the ninja's glasses, but instead of going splat, it actually bounced off the spectacles and over the table, before landing squarely into the yellow maiden's mouth. Satisfied with the execution and the fact that their sleeping comrade did not wake up from being used at a target, Yang gave a thumbs up to Nora and Ash held up a sign with the number ten on it in her honor. Everyone else looked quite amused with the display and were about to congratulate the girl when a certain red rose decided to let her presence be known.

*_Bam!*_

"_Zzzz…Pop…keep it down…you'll wake Mom up…Zzzz…_"

"And here I thought Ren was a heavy sleeper," Jaune muttered in amusement, not at all surprised that the loud noise failed to wake up the slumbering ninja.

"Ahe-he-hem!" A childish voice coughed, and everyone turned to see Ruby standing at the edge of the table, a large, heavy binder before her that was used to make the noise. The girl had serious face, an odd thing to see on the normally cheerful and energetic fifteen year old, and began speaking as if she was the leader of a country, which was not far off considering she was indeed a leader. A leader of a team of huntresses-in-training, but a leader nonetheless.

"Sisters! Friends! Weiss…!"

"Hey!"

"Four score and seven minutes ago, I had a dream."

"This ought to be good," Yang commented quietly before opening her mouth to allow a cherry to enter her mouth provided by Nora.

"A dream that one day that the four of us, no, the twelve of us, as a huge team, and have the most fun anyone has ever had. Ever!"

"Did you steal my binder?" Weiss asked, seeing the title of the binder that was crossed off and noticing that it was the activity binder she made during the break.

"I am not a crook." Ruby assured, her hands holding up peace signs to emphasize the point.

"Feh, yeah. And I cannot tell a lie," Dia scoffed quietly in in amusement.

"…What are you talking about," Blake asked, wanting to get to the bottom of her leader's rambling.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" The young rose announced.

"I always kick my semesters off with a Yang!" The notorious pun maker grinned, turning to her groaning friends in hopes to see someone would support her and happy that her lightning powered friend was asleep. There was no one to through something at her for making puns and she was going to take advantage of it.

"Ehh!? Guys? Am I right?"

*_Bop!*_

"Boooo!" Nora jeered after throwing a grape at her while Baltazar suddenly smiled in his sleep, as if showing his approval to the bomber's actions.

Not to be deterred by the bad pun, Ruby continued on, "Look guys, we had pretty good vacation, We spend some quality time with one another, hung out at the beach, and even went to one of those hotspring bath hotels that we've only seen on TV."

"We have to do something like that again. I quite enjoyed it, even if I don't remember much of what happened at the hotel…" Pyrrha spoke up with a curious tilt to her head, getting nods of agreement from most of the girls, while the guys, Levy and Ruby briefly looked at each other nervously, sans the still sleeping shinobi.

"Eh…hehehe… Yeah. We should," Ruby agreed with a nervous laugh before continuing with her announcement, "In any case, the last two weeks were a blast. And with more exchange students arriving and the tournament at the end of the year, our second semester is going to be great! But classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today!"

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store," Weiss admitted with a small scowl, still irritated at Ruby for stealing her binder, as Yang stood up and tossed a green apple at Nora. Unfortunately for the blonde, her aim was off and the fruit ended up hitting someone else that was close by.

*_Conk!*_

"Ow! Why do dudes always go for my head!?" Ash whined while rubbing the back of his head.

"Yang, I don't mean to be rude, but I have to say this. That was the worst throw I've ever seen… Ever… Of all time…" Ren muttered in disapproval.

"Not my fault. Someone put a flirt in my way." Yang stated before chucking another apple, this time hitting its mark and causing Nora to squeak in pain.

"I don't know," Blake spoke up in hesitation, unaffected by the food toss incident, and catching both Weiss and Levy's attention "I'm not really all that up to it right now. I think I might sit this one out."

"Blake, are you sure?" Levy asked in concern, thinking that there was something wrong with her friend.

"Yes, Levy, I'm sure. I think I'll read something instead, if you guys don't mind," Blake suggested.

"Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day, we should do it as a team." Weiss stated firmly, surprising Blake slightly by the heiress's effort for doing group activities today.

As this was happening Nora seized the opportunity to grab another object, graciously provided by Ash and was getting ready to toss it.

"You can't beat the classics, Bombette. Use this and you'll win for sure! You got it?" Ash grinned.

"I got it!" Nora grinned, unaware that Dia and Yang were staring at her in horror.

"Nora, wait, don't throw that!" Dia hissed while Yang put her arms up and waved them frantically in hopes that her friend listened to her fellow blonde's words. The rest of team JNPR, realizing what was in their grenadier's hand and begged her to not throw it, but their voices were not heard until it was too late.

Not noticing any of this, Levy and the rest of team RWBY were listening to Weiss, who decided to stand up in order to make suggestion for her leader.

"I for one think that-"

*_Splat!*_

"_¡Mi Tarta!_"

The girls of RWBY were stunned in shock as soon as they saw the pie hit the heiress's face while Levy looked like she was ready to cry, seeing the pie she made especially for her friend had just been used as a projectile. As soon as the tin fell off her face, Weiss and the other girls turned attention to the other table, where they say Nora pointing at Ren, Ren himself facepalming, Pyrrha covering her mouth in surprise, Jaune with a hand on his face and his mouth agape, Ash covering his mouth with his fist to muffle his laughter and Dia slamming her head on the table muttering that they were doomed now. It was at this moment that the once napping ninja decided to wake up.

"Mmmm…that was a good nap," Baltazar muttered as he stretched slightly, completely unaware of what just happened, and replaced his glasses on his face before looking around to check up on his friends. Noticing their looks of shock, and large amount of his cousin's pie on the fencer's face, the groggy ninja only had one thing to say.

"So…what did I miss?"

-Outside the Dining Hall-

Sun Wukong, a stowaway from another kingdom and a friend of Blake, was happily talking to a suave looking blue haired teen beside him, who was wearing a white dress shirt and tie under a red sweater, dark grey pants, gloves and boots, and a pair of googles on his head. The blonde Faunus explaining what had happened to him and all the friends he made during his time in Vale and he was sure his friend was enjoying it if the amused expression on his face was anything to go by.

"Heh. Man, that's harsh." The blue haired teen commented.

"So then we were fighting side by side. And she and the little cat were super-fast and I threw a banana at a guy. Which sounds gross, but it was awesome!" Sun grinned.

"Nice," The teen smiled.

"Right? And the best part is she's a Faunus!" Sun explained happily, but covered his mouth when he realized what he said. Worried, the blonde monkey turned to his friend once more and spoke frantically. "But that's a secret, ok!"

"Got it…" The goggled teen said.

"And not a 'I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back' secret! I'm talking _secret_ secret, ok Neptune?!" Sun insisted.

"Whoa, chill out man. Ok, I got it." Neptune said calmly, staring straight into his friend's eyes as he said it and whispered once more for good measure, "Got it…"

"You better," Sun grumbled, ignoring Neptune's scoff, "I just don't wanna screw this up, ya know. The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys."

"None taken." Neptune stated, unaware of what was happening inside the cafeteria as the pair walked passed the window, such as people tossing their lunch around and various amounts of fruit, and Jaune, being slammed into the window.

"Ok, they're just in here!" Sun spoke up as they stopped at the entrance to the still unknown madhouse known as the cafeteria. "I'm really excited for you to meet them, so be cool, ok? You're gonna be cool, right?"

"Dude," Neptune grinned with his arms crossed, showing off an effective cool pose at his friend, complete with his shiny white teeth twinging for a moment.

"…Good point." Sun conceded, and was about to open the door when he heard something calling out to them. Or meowing, to be specific.

"Mow! Meow-Rowl!"

"Eh?" The pair grunted in confusion, and turned to see a black cat with blue eyes and a matching collar and small gauntlets on its forepaws jogging towards Sun, who smiled brightly at the sight of him.

"Hey, hey! It's Charcoal! How ya been, little guy!?" Sun greeted enthusiastically as he kneeled down to pet the cat, who was purring happily at his touch.

"Mowww. Mrow ma mama mow. Meow rowl-ow!" The cat explained, confusing Neptune greatly while Sun nodded in understanding.

"I see. You had a delivery to the headmaster and decided to take a small detour to visit the others before you head back eh?" Sun asked for clarification, surprising Neptune and getting a nod of confirmation from the black cat before him, "We're actually about to meet up with them now. Wanna join us?"

"Mew!" Charcoal mewed happily and proceeded to jump onto Sun's head, causing him to laugh at the cat's antics.

"…Since when can you speak cat?" Neptune asked.

"Learned it from a fourteen year old, five-foot four-inch genius metal smith after he came back from Vacuo last week. Cool guy so long as you don't mention his height. He's sensitive about it," Sun explained, with Charcoal actually nodding to confirm what he said, much to Neptune's surprise.

"Uh… Ok then." The blue eyed teen muttered, before the pair entered the cafeteria, and barely had time to think when they heard two words that any teenager would be excited to hear.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

Neptune looked around in confusion while Sun and Charcoal had excited expressions glued to their faces as student after student began rushing out of the hall, all while repeating the phrase 'Food Fight'. The blue haired man was wondering why they were running away from what could be considered a good old academy past time when he began to hear the sounds of a madwoman cackling.

"I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!"

Turning their attention to what was in front of them, they were greeted by the sight of a tower of tables, with team JNPR standing on them and Nora on top of the tower, her hands on her hips and announcing her ascension to the throne proudly and manically.

On another table stood team RWBY, with the leader glaring at the Table Castle and began stomping on her stand, a carton of Udder Satisfaction milk in her hands and pointing at the fortress before her, hell-bent on taking it down.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!"

*_sploosh!*_

"It will be DELICIOUS!" The leader cried out, squeezing her milk so hard it practically that it exploded, and raised her fist to the air, prompting her team to do the same and cry out alongside her.

"YEAH!"

"Hah! You may be an awesome team, but we got something you don't!" Nora taunted before reaching into her skirt and pulled out two marble sized balls, one light green and the other a dark grey. "Come forth, my soldier and archer!"

With a toss towards the vending machine, the two balls slammed into the ground and produced a cloud of smoke that was a mix of the color the balls were. A few seconds later, the smoke dissipated, and from it, came Dia and Ash, both of them with excited smirks and looking ready to fight.

"Oh yeah!? You may got a soldier and an archer, but we got a ninja and a medic!" Ruby countered and snapped her fingers. A few seconds later Levy showed up in a blur while Baltazar simply appeared in thin air, both of them glaring at the tower and ready to give it their all.

Seeing that everyone was here, Nora smirked once more and jumped from her pedestal and onto her ammunition, a load of watermelons, and gave her army a single command.

"Off with their heads!"

With that, the team sprang into action. Ren was first, and started off with catapulting three watermelons into the air and kicked them at his enemies. Then came Jaune, who grabbed a single melon and tossed it hard, with Pyrrha following up with a couple of her own. Ash, being the showoff that he was, grabbed a stack of three melons himself and tossed them into the air, before executing three perfect back hands, each of them launching a pair of melons. Dia, instead of tossing her fruit like the others, simply launched a pair of them from a larger makeshift catapult than the one Ren used and Nora finished off the first wave by tossing a tableful of melons.

"Incoming MMDs!" Levy cried out.

"Melons of Mass Destruction?! Yang! Turkey! Baltazar! Cheese!" Ruby ordered, prompting the pair in question to rush over to the items their commander stated; a pair of turkeys and a large cheese platter.

With their weapons in hand, Yang pounded her new turkey fists together while Baltazar stood beside him and showed off his new arsenal of cheese shuriken and spread them up like a hand of cards. Glaring at the incoming fruit, Baltazar opened fire, and launched a flurry of sharp cheddar at the melons, slicing many of them into perfect cuts, while Yang went and punched a few that managed to not get hit. Seeing some that the both of them missed, the two jumped away to avoid them. Now out of ammunition, the tiger ninja noticed a baguette beside him and grabbed it. Seeing her comrade in arms with a new weapon, the pair nodded at one another and rushed towards the melon storm and began beating away the fruits with the power of poultry and wheat.

Seeing a chance to assist, Blake and Levy rushed ahead and jumped over their respective. Acquiring new weapons of their own, a pair of baguettes for Blake and two leeks for Levy, the two slid ahead and took out a few melons as well, before the fire and lightning pair arrived and destroyed another set with a couple of good kicks. Seeing her chance, Yang fired her turkeys toward her and in the direction of her fellow blonde, Jaune.

Seeing the once flightless fowls now flying right towards him, the blonde leader's eyes went wide and ducked from the first turkey, before jumping over the second one, barely avoiding them, while Pyrrha rolled away to safety, and gave Jaune a proud smile before tossing one of the baguettes she acquired to him. Pleased with himself, and grateful to Pyrrha, the now armed breadsman pointed his weapon at his opponents, but frowned when he noticed something off about the attackers.

"Wait a minute…I only see the girls. Where is…?"

Before he could finish his question, a sudden chill went through the leader's back, and quickly turned around just in time to block a bread swipe from the lone man in the other team. Smirking at his opponent, Baltazar zipped to the other side of Jaune and launched another strike to the man's unprotected back. He was successful, and managed to slam Jaune away, and proceeded to go after him. Pyrrha, knowing full well that the ninja thrived on one-on-one fights such as this, was about to head over to help when she began sensing another presence. Turning around, she only had a moment's noticed before she jumped away to avoid Blake and her twin bread assault. Landing beside Jaune, who managed to send Baltazar back towards Blake with a lucky blow to the chest, the two turned to each other and nodded, before lunging over to the ninja duo and found themselves in a four way deadlock: Blake vs. Pyrrha and Baltazar vs. Jaune.

A few seconds later the red and blonde couple jumped back and swiped at their foes' bodies, only to find themselves hitting nothing but an after image and a blue light. Looking confused briefly, the couple only had a moment's notice before the ninjas appeared behind them and began their assault. Pyrrha avoided the assault but Jaune allowed himself to be hit and skid back, knowing he could take the hit. The dual duel continued once more, bread clashing constantly and blows being dodged before the black and blue duo used their tricks once more to get themselves into the air, and the pair launched another assault: with Blake launching one of her baguettes while Baltazar opted for one of the slices of watermelon he acquired during the initial assault.

Pyrrha, seeing the incoming assault, jumped away to avoid getting hit. Jaune however, wasn't so lucky, and took a bread loaf to the head before his stomach was pelted by melon slices before he was blown away by the force. Undaunted, the red haired maiden rushed forward and lunged her baguette at Blake, making a successful hit and launching her away, but destroying her weapon in the process. Baltazar looked away to check on his beaten comrade, but that proved to be a mistake, as immediately after, his back was rained down upon by a multitude of carrots, causing him to go down. Turning around, Pyrrha smiled as she saw that it was Dia who fired the carrots, who turned a few stalks of celery and some string cheese into a makeshift bow. Giving her long range friend a nod, the pair then launched their respective weapons at their next target: Yang.

Seeing the incoming bread and carrot assault, Yang did her best to knock away the incoming projectiles, but failed to notice one baguette heading towards her until it was too late. After seeing her sister flying, Ruby sprang into action herself and grabbed a food tray. Sliding on the table, the young rose began sliding left and right, avoiding the incoming bread and carrots, before jumping off and used her tray to send the incoming food items back, causing them to move away to avoid being hit. Concerned, Dia rushed over to assist, but that proved to be a mistake as Ruby continued to slide over toward the ponytailed pair and slammed her tray onto the pair, knocking them back, with Dia flying farther due to her smaller and lighter frame.

Seeing their friends down, Nora, Ren and Ash leapt into action and charged right at Ruby. The young rose, seeing their incoming forms, jumped away and allowed the childhood friends to get to work. With Weiss holding a bottle of ketchup and Levy two bottles of mustard, the two went on the offensive. Doing a quick spin, Weiss sprayed her bottle to the ground creating a mist of red and a blanket of ketchup on the ground while Levy settled for standing behind the heiress and began firing small globs of mustard at her foes repeatedly. The plan was considered a one out of three, as the combination only managed to affect Ren. Due to the combination of the slippery floor and the somewhat forceful condiment assault, the martial artist fell to the ground and slid into a pile of chairs, causing him and the other chairs to fly away. Using the flying debris to their advantage, the mischief making duo jumped on the airborne tables and grabbed a pair of flag poles on opposite ends of the room. Meeting together in the middle, the two swung their poles and dug them deep into their weapons of choice, a melon and a large cheese wheel with two slices missing, making it looked like a bow. Grinning to each other and to their new weapons, the two swung their fruit and dairy items and were about to strike the heiress and medic, but were foiled by the combined appearance of their respective leaders.

Taking the blows, Ruby and Baltazar, who managed to recover from the beta carotene assault in time to help, were launched away from their partners, forcing them to fight for themselves once again. Rolling away from the red and orange nightmares, Levy grabbed a loaf of wheat bread and split it in two before shoving them into her hand in a similar fashion to Yang while Weiss went for a different weapon, a swordfish. Meat and bread on hand, literally in one case, the pair zoomed over to their foes and struck their blows on them, launching them a fair ways away from them. Shaking off the blow easily, the two heavy hitters launched their assault on the light weights, easily blocking their strikes, before slamming them hard, causing Levy to slam into her unsuspecting cousin and into a nearby wall, while Weiss ended up crashing into a pillar, destroying it in the process.

Ruby, now recovered from the heavy blows themselves and the latter having lost his glasses in the flight, noticed Weiss and the falling pillar, and rushed over to her. She managed to get her, but became frantic when she noticed her state.

"Weiss! Weiss! Don't leave me!" Ruby begged, wishing for her partner to come back, before turning to the only one who could help.

"Medic! We need our Medic!"

"I'm sorry, Ruby, but it's too late. There's nothing I can do…for either of them…" Levy muttered sadly, gesturing to the shinobi she crashed into, and caused the cloaked girl to gasp when she noticed that he was passing as well.

"I can't…go on…" Baltazar muttered, his voice heavy as he slowly began to drift away. "_Lo siento…mis amigos. Hasta…en la otra…vida…_"

With that, the ninja closed his eyes and allowed the darkness to consume him. Levy let off a depressed sigh, knowing that there was nothing she could do, and turned to Ruby. The medic shook her head sadly, and it was all the young reaper needed in order to figure out what just happened.

"No…not Baltazar too! Not Baltazar Too!" Ruby cried, not caring about the fallen pillar behind her, and shouted towards the heavens as the pillar crashed onto the ground.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Yang, who saw the defeat of two of her comrades, rushed passed her sister and former roommate, shoved her fist into a new pair of turkeys and began rushing over to the battlefield with renewed vigor. Seeing the fiery blonde in action prompted Levy to move as well, causing her to rush over to her friend's side, grabbing a new bread loaf in the process.

As this was happening, both Ren and Dia got out of their fort, now somewhat recovered, and rushed over to the battlefield, grabbing a pair of leeks on the way for combat. With roar cries from the four of them, the two met in the middle and clashed, Ren leeks blocking Yang's kick and Levy blocking Dia's leeks through her wheat. After a short moment in deadlock, the fire and water duo launched their attack, proving their close combat prowess by firing multiple blows and strikes on the dual wielding duo. Attempting to fight back, the two flower fighters struck back, but unfortunately they became overpowered or outmaneuvered, and with a few more blows, the two were launched in the air by their foes. Not going down without a fight though, the two flipped in mid-air, with Dia hovering above Ren, and the magenta eyed teen allowed his weapons to be touched by the girl above him, who's eyes changed from their normal bright green to a much darker shade. Leeks now glowing, the duo fired their weapons at their foes, hoping that the added boost of tracking would be able to turn the tides.

Unfortunately for the airborne pair, the two girls managed to jump away just as the leeks were closing in on them, causing the stalks of veggies to embed themselves onto the ground due to them being too slow to follow the duo's movements. Now weaponless, the two were defenseless when their foes joined them in the air, and were forced to take strong blows from them. Ren was struck hard downwards, causing the table below him to break, while Dia was sent clear towards the vending machines and crashed right behind them. Landing on their feet, Yang and Levy only had a short moment's rest before jumping away to avoid the deadly combination of fruit and dairy caused by the two heavy hitters.

Not backing down, the four teens rushed towards one another, meat, bread, fruit and dairy getting ready for one large clash. While Yang and Levy were fast, Nora and Ash were faster at this moment, and the elemental duo were taken out by the heavy hitters, with Yang flying clear to the roof and crashing through it, and Levy being slammed to the ground so hard she actually made a crater in the ground and ended up being buried underneath a pile of roof rubble.

Seeing her comrades now out of the playing field and her opponents now weaponless, Blake backflipped away from the leftover debris and grabbed a long chain of hotlinks. Whipping the meat around her, the kunoichi launched her attack on the two powerhouses, successfully knocking them back and sending Nora into the soda machines and Ash into the tables.

With her soldier now out of commission due to being buried under a pile of tables, Nora rolled towards and began throwing a few cans of sodas at her opponent, causing them to explode as soon as the landed. As this was happening, Pyrrha began to get up, and, noticing the multiple _metal_ cans around her, slammed her hand onto the ground, causing them to float all around her and began firing at Blake, who was unable to protect herself from the savage onslaught and wound up being launched away to the end of the cafeteria, now down for the count.

Seeing her comrades have all been taken out in one way or another, Ruby glared at her opponents and, taking a moment to ready herself, sprinted towards them so fast that everything began to follow her, from soda cans to the leftover food. Team JNPR, along with Ash and Dia, could only watch in horror as what looked like a red missile began heading right towards them, with a tornado of debris following close by. None were prepared for Ruby when she zoomed passed them, and they were definitely not prepared when the tornado came right on top of them and blew them towards the wall where Ruby stopped at, a multitude of cracks on it due to the force of her stopping. They then see the young teen jump up and away from them, and the six of them were helpless when all the food, plates and sodas that followed her began crashing into them. The onslaught continued for a while and as soon as it was over, the six of them were covered head to toe in food and soda, the wall they were pinned to looking similarly to modern art, and it wasn't until Ruby landed that they fell to the ground, defeated.

"I love these guys." Sun chirped with a wide grin with Charcoal nodded in agreement. Neptune on the other hand was not happy, he himself having become covered in a load of People Like Grapes Soda during the course of the food fight, and settled for glaring at the happy Faunus and feline beside him.

*_Slam!*_

With a loud slam that startled the pair and cat, Glynda Goodwitch appeared from behind them, growling in annoyance at the sight of the destroyed cafeteria, and proceeded to repair it with a flick of her crop. A few seconds later, the room looked good as new, as if it wasn't the subject of a large war just moments ago, and the instructor focused her attention to the ones who orchestrated the fiasco, her annoyance obvious to all who see it.

"Children, please…do not play with your food." Glynda stated, her teeth gritting at the sight of the eleven food and soda covered students before her; team JNPR to her left, team BLAD in the center, and the remains of team RWBY to her right. Yang still had yet to appear, and the instructor was about to reprimand them again when she and the others heard a loud burp. They turned to Nora, the source of the burp, and before anyone could say anything, a loud rumbling was heard and from it came Yang, who had finally returned from her flight and crashed right to the ground, specifically on Ash, who was standing with team RWBY at the time.

"Oh…that's gotta hurt," Dia winced before taking a look the state of her partner and fellow blonde, and went wide eyed at what she saw before letting off a long wolf whistle. "Whoa man, finally getting some with Yang, eh? Took you long enough."

Confused by what the archer was talking about, the others took a look at where Yang landed and gaped at what they saw: Yang straddling Ash and their lips together in a kiss. A forceful one too if the crash was anything to go by. The two flirts remained lip-locked for a short while before Yang ended the kiss and sat up on Ash's waist. She then touched her lips with her fingers, and a faint blush began to form on her face as the kiss began playing on her head, along with other thoughts.

"Huh…wasn't expecting mint. I expected him to have more of a cinnamon flavored, to be honest," Yang muttered, a bemused expression on her face, before standing up and looked down at the clearly dazed redhead. "Hey, Ash? You ok? You're looking a little out of it there, buddy."

Knowing that he was in a daze, the others were not expecting a response, so when they heard him speak, it came as a surprise for them all, but all began smiling after they heard what he said.

"Best…Day…Ever…"

The statement set off everyone into a fit of laughter, angering the instructor, who now had another few holes to patch up. She was about to head over to her students to teach them a lesson when she felt a familiar hand grab her shoulder.

"Let it go." A calm voice stated, and Glynda turned to see Professor Ozpin behind her, looking at her calmly before turning his focus to the laughing students. The blonde instructor let off a frustrated sigh, obeying the headmaster's request, before turning to the teens as well.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." Glynda muttered.

"And they will be. But right now they're still children. So why not let them play the part?" Ozpin asked, giving his old friend a gentle squeeze on the shoulder, before turning away and began heading towards the door, leaving the professor with one last word in.

"After all, it isn't a role they'll have forever."

-Unknown Warehouse, early evening-

It was later in the afternoon, close to evening to be exact, when Mercury and Emerald arrived at their final destination of the day; a warehouse full of White Fang soldiers and many carts and crates full of what was mostly like Dust. The pair entered the building, none of the soldiers stopping them despite being human, and the two continued on until they reached a certain part of the room, which was a certain white suited man. Noticing their presence, he turned around, revealing to be Roman Torchwick, and began greeting them in his own, special way.

"Oh look, she sent the kids again," The renowned thief cooed mockingly as he walked over to the two teens and gave them each a one arm hugged. "This is turning out just like the divorce."

"Spare us the thought of you procreating…" Emerald muttered while shuttering as she and Mercury pushed the thief away from them.

"That was a joke…" Roman stated while pulling out a piece of paper, one that looked quite familiar to the green haired girl, "And this…just might tell me where you two have been all day."

"What!?" Emerald gasped, realizing that it was her paper that was in her hand.

"I'm a professional, sweetheart. Pay attention and maybe you'll learn something." Roman explained.

"I'm sure she has learned quite a bit, Roman. All she needs is the experience and she'll end up being a better thief than you…" A deep, smooth voice stated, and the three of them turned to see a man with long black hair leaning on a nearby wall, the man himself wearing a blood red dress shirt with matching pants and shoes, a midnight blue overcoat that reached the bottom of his legs, long, pointed ears and a pair of blood red eyes, with the pupils narrowed to vertical slits. All of them recognized the man, but it was Mercury who greeted the newcomer.

"Hey, Duke! What's up, man? It's been a while!" Mercury said with a wave to the red eyed Bat Faunus.

"Indeed, Mercury. I had some missions I had to take care of and I needed to stop at a repair shop in town in order to get my weapon repaired. A minor drawback for being a professional huntsman, but nothing I can't handle," Duke explained calmly.

"I like the new jacket. Much better than your old one," Emerald admitted, looking at the older man approvingly.

"It was a gift from my sister Kira when I met up with her a few weeks ago. She always had good tastes in clothing." Duke smirked before turning to Roman with mild interest. "Now Roman, I know you were curious as to where these two were at, but if you really wanted to find them, why didn't you ask me? I knew where they were the whole time."

"Eh! You knew where we went?!" Emerald questioned in surprise while Mercury quirked an eyebrow in his direction.

"Of course. There are few things that escape my vision. Or hearing, to be exact," The man stated as he brought his hand up and pointed a finger straight ahead of him. A moment later, a small black bat arrived and perched itself on the Faunus's finger, causing Mercury to chuckle at the sight, Emerald to coo at the flying mammal, and Roman to sneer at the maroon coated man.

"Feh, I'd rather do things by myself, thank you very much. I don't need help," The thief muttered in distain before taking a good look at the paper in his hand, growing more annoyed when he realized what it was. "Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald scoffed.

"Yeah, I would!" Roman stated, walking up to the pair to confront them. "Now, where have you been all day?"

"Cleaning up your problems. One of them, at least" Mercury spoke up.

"I had that under control." Roman stated with a slight growl in his tone.

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise," Duke chimed in, well aware of what they were talking about.

"Shut up, bat man. Nobody asked you!" Roman growled before turning to the pair, both of them having smug expressions on their faces, and focused on Mercury. "Listen you little punk, if it were up to me, I would take you and your little street-rat friend here, and I would-"

"Do what, Roman?"

Startled by the sultry voice above them, Roman turned his head and looked up to see an amber eyed woman looking down at him, her raven colored hair and intricate red dress making her easily recognizable to the quartet from below.

"Hahaha…I'd, uh…not killed them?" Roman finished sheepishly, not wanting to incur the wrath of the woman before him as she descended towards them on the elevator.

"Cinder!" Emerald crowed, happy to see the woman, unlike the other thief beside her.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would-be runaway." Cinder questioned with an air of annoyance around her as she walked up to her employee.

"I was going to!" Roman muttered through grit teeth.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo. Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald spoke up as Mercury walked up to her.

"I think he was some sort of cat actually." Mercury said.

"What, like a puma?" Emerald asked jokingly.

"Yeah, there ya go," Mercury quipped back.

"Quiet!" Cinder called out, unaware of Roman's childish gestures to the pair. "Did I not specifically instruct you two to keep your hands clean while in Vale?"

"S-Sorry, Cinder," Emerald apologized while Mercury took note of Roman's taunting, "I just thought-"

"Don't think. Obey," Cinder interrupted, her voice firm as she spoke, once again either not noticing or ignoring Roman's taunting.

"…Yes, ma'am. It won't happen again," Emerald promised.

"They did obey, technically." Duke spoke up, "The only one who did the deed was Mercury, and he used his greaves to take him out. So, in the end, they did kept their hands clean. Just not their feet."

"Duke…you have quite the way with words, don't you?" Cinder asked with a small smirk.

"Comes with being the son of a police chief. You pick up a few things here and there when it comes to finding loopholes and such," The huntsman admitted.

"Understandable," The woman nodded before turning her attention to Roman, who began to laugh nervously at the attention, "And you… Why wasn't this job done sooner?"

Roman simply made a small grunt before gesturing to a pile of crates full of Dust, before turning to another pile and finally ending at the ones behind him, all while grunting to emphasize his point.

"Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of Dust in the kingdom!" The thief exclaimed.

"You're an inspiration to every punk with a gun and a ski-mask," Mercury droned as Emerald began to giggle at the joke.

"I'd hope you took time to make sure no one that you stole from had any fire or bottles of liquid on hand. I heard those are useful tools to find someone who is sneaking about. I believe the term is called 'spychecking', if I remember right." Duke suggested with a smirk.

"Oh up yours, you cocky vampire!" Roman growled, a certain finger flipped up at the amused huntsman, before gesturing to the crates he stole once more, "Look around. I got this town running scared. Police camping out at every corner. Dust prices through the roof. And, we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust crystals, vials and rounds than we know what do with!"

The man then paused for a moment, his back turned away from his co-conspirators as he was explaining the results of his work, before turning around to address another issue that was on his mind. "Speaking of which. If you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand-master plan, it might actually make my next string of robberies go a little smoother!"

"Oh Roman, have a little faith," Cinder cooed as she walked over to the orange haired man, placing a hand on his face as she continued, "You'll know what you need when you need to know it."

Roman said nothing for a while and simply stared Cinder, and not a moment longer he saw her eyes began to glow. Knowing that he wasn't going to get any more info, he scoffed quietly and turned his head away.

"Besides, we're done with Dust." The woman added in, surprising the thief with the revelation.

"Ok…Then what now?" He couldn't help but ask.

"We're moving." Cinder stated as she began heading out. "Have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight."

"Coordinates?" Roman repeated in confusion.

"We're proceeding to phase two," Cinder smirked before turning to Duke. "Caldera needs to know about this. Do you wish to inform her or shall I?"

"I actually have somewhere I need to be pretty soon, so I'd prefer it if you do it, if you don't mind," Duke admitted, walking up to the woman and standing right next to her.

"I see," Cinder nodded before turning to the two kids. "So…does anyone want to accompany our good friend Duke on his little…errand?"

"I'll do it. It'll be a good chance to catch up," Mercury requested with his hands up, and with a nod, the four of them began heading out of the warehouse, leaving Roman to himself.

Growling in annoyance, the man grabbed a cigar and placed it in his mouth. He then began looking for his lighter, only to realize that it wasn't on him for some reason. He then heard a clicking sound, and scowled when he saw Emerald with it and had it lit. The girl stuck out her tongue at the man, further infuriating the man, before closing the lighter with a resounding click.

-Streets of Vale, evening-

"So, Duke, where are we heading?" Mercury asked with his arms behind his head as he and the Faunus before him were wandering around the streets of Vale.

"We are heading to one of the best repair shops in the city of Vale, Mercury," Duke explained. "I am very well acquainted with the owner, and I left my sword with him to get it repaired. I also sprung in a little extra to have it redesigned, and I'm looking forward to see its new look."

"Really? If it's as good as you say, maybe I'll get this guy to check up my greaves sometime…" Mercury suggested.

"Mmm. I'm sure he wouldn't mind." Duke shrugged before stopping right in front of a building. "Here we are."

"Hmm?" The silver haired teen grunted, and looked up to read the sign, "_Relámpagos Repairs, where we fix whatever you broke in the speed of lightning_. Sounds a little presumptuous, don't ya think?"

"Maybe, but if there's anyone who's able to pull off such a feat, it is him," Duke stated before reaching to the door and opened it.

The two entered, and were welcomed to the sight of various amounts of items and tools hanging on the wall. From simple appliances and toys to complex weapons and machines, Mercury let off an impressed whistle as soon as he took note of everything he saw.

"Whoa man, this guy does it all, eh?" Mercury asked, very impressed by the things he was seeing.

"That's right. And he has quite the legacy as well," Duke confirmed before walking towards the empty counter, and Mercury couldn't help but smirk at the similar situation he was in, although he doubt the outcome of this particular visit will end up the same.

"Excuse me! I'm back for my order!" Duke announced politely.

"Hold on, Duke! Give me a second!" A young voice answered, which was not what Mercury was expecting at all.

"Hmm? So he's helping out as well? Like father, like son, I suppose," Duke mused.

"…Did I just hear a kid answer your call, Duke?" Mercury couldn't help but ask.

"He's a huntsman-in-training, to be exact, and a fairly strong one if his weapon is anything to go by," Duke explained before a cool, if not hungry, smirk appeared on his lips, "Maybe I should spar with him sometime to gauge his strength. It's been a while since I dueled against a member of his family."

"And end up being sent to the hospital shortly after you pummel me to a pulp? I'd rather take my chances with Big Sis when she's angry than you when you're bored." The young voice repeated, and the duo turned to see a young teen coming out of the door. The boy had mocha colored skin, short black hair with brown eyes, a blue hoodie underneath a thin red vest, a pair of reddish-brown pants and matching boots that reached his knees. The young boy stared at the duo curiously, specifically at Mercury, before turning his attention to the one who called him.

"Hey there, Duke. How have you been?" The boy asked politely.

"I'm doing well, Cordovan. Thank you for asking," Duke smiled.

"It's Cody, Duke. Nobody calls me Cordovan anymore," Cody stated with a sigh before turning to Mercury. "So…who are you? Are you a customer wanting to get something fixed or what?"

"Oh, don't mind me. I'm just following Duke here," Mercury admitted, his curious gaze focusing on the short boy behind the counter. "Hey, if you don't mind me asking, aren't you a little young to be manning the counter of a repair shop that accepts orders to fix up, among other things, weapons of mass destruction?"

"Why yes. Yes I am." Cody confirmed.

"Don't let the boy's age fool you, Mercury," Duke spoke up. "Young Cody here is considered a prodigy of the forge. While his family is known to be amongst the best weapon makers in the kingdom, he specifically has enough talent to put them all to shame. There are very few things that this boy can't make."

"Really?" Mercury drawled in disbelief, unaware of the darkening gaze he was getting from a certain forger. "You mean to tell me that this little runt is-"

"WHO YA CALLING A RUNT?!" The boy shouted, startling the silver haired teen, and jumped on the counter, his eyes narrowing to slits and turning blue on the process. The boy then reached behind him and pulled out a large looking bladed riffle, the weapon once being in two halves on top of one another before snapping together.

"_Well…isn't this quite the coincidence…_" Mercury thought in dark amusement, and was about to ready himself to kick another foolish Faunus when another person decided to make his presence known.

"Easy, there, son. You start school soon and I'd hate to let Qrow and Taiyang know their 'favorite' student wasn't able to see them for the next semester." A relaxed voice joked, and the two older men looked to see that there was man around the teen's height standing behind the counter, holding him back by the hood. The man had a sapphire colored t-shirt with dark blue pants, black shoes and messy black hair. His skin was the same color as the boy he was holding and a golden brown twinkling in amusement, while the other was covered with a black eyepatch. Mercury blinked a couple times, not expecting the shorter man to appear, but Duke simply let off a small smile at the man.

"Ah, Uncle Bo. Good evening. I take it my order is finished?" Duke asked.

"It is. I have it in the back," Bo explained while pointing at the doors behind him with his thumb before pulling his son off the counter. "Cody, why don't you go and fetch Duke's weapon for him, please? I think it's for the best, since you looked like you were about to go wild on a potential customer for calling you short again."

"Yeah, yeah…" The young teen grumbled as he was set down before heading through the doors, causing Duke to look bemused and Mercury to look confused once more.

"This happens a lot, doesn't it…?" Mercury asked, his question more of a statement than anything.

"Only when he's here minding the shop. Thankfully it's his last day, so I don't have to worry about him scaring away customers," Bo joked.

"So he's heading to Patch Island soon, Uncle?" Duke asked.

"He's leaving tonight, actually. He already made his goodbyes to Ruby and his new friends at Beacon, so all he needs to do is wait for his shift to be over and he'll be sent right to Signal," Bo explained with a grin.

"Wait…you're his uncle?" Mercury asked again in confusion, noticing that they looked nothing alike.

"It's just a title. I was in a team with his father when we were active and our families have been close for generations, so he and his sisters often call me uncle because of that." Bo explained.

"Huh. That's interesting," Mercury commented before turning to Duke. "I kinda like this guy. He looks like the kind of guy who likes to go on his own path. Know what I'm saying?"

"He's a man that typically follows his own rules and doesn't let anyone say otherwise. He used to be quite the troublemaker in his past if what my father said about him was true," The huntsman stated, an amused smirk on his face as he stared at the now sheepish repairman.

"Eh…hehe. Yeah. I was a bit of a wild one in my youth. Malcom and Kalt did their best to reign me in, but they weren't all that successful, especially when Etna came into the picture." Bo admitted before giving off a sigh in reminiscence, "Ahh…the pranks we used to pull on Ozpin and Glynda when we first came to Beacon. Summer often joined in on our fun, and no one was able to find us when we let off our large scale pranks. And don't get me started on the prank wars we had."

"Dad, I don't think we have much time for any storytelling today. You were about to close soon because you were supposed to meet up with a guest tonight, right?" Cody spoke up, holding a double edged sword with a blue blade and intricate runes etched on the center, a large blue orb in place of a guard with two protrusions on both sides of it, and a deep maroon colored hilt. "Here's Dracula, Duke. I know it looks a lot different compared to what it was used to, but you wanted a complete redesign of it, so Dad and I went wild with it. Hope it looks good."

"It looks great, Cody. Thank you," Duke said with a small bow.

"We should be the ones who should thank you, Duke. My boys have been interested in your sword for a long time and having a chance to repair it was something like a wish come true. My oldest even stated that he finally got the inspiration needed to finish his long-time project along with an enhancement with his current weapon thanks to this thing, so once again, thank you for letting us fix Dracula, Duke," Bo explained, a kind smile on his face as he complemented his former leader's son.

"Good to know, Uncle," Duke chuckled before he sheathed his new blade.

"That has to be one of the best looking Dust swords I've ever seen, man." Mercury complemented, impressed by the look of the powerful looking blade.

"It better. My dad, and I spent the better part of the weekend on it while my brother helped with the detail work all last night. I wouldn't be surprised if he passed out during lunch today." Cody smirked before taking another look at Mercury. "By the way…who are you? Are you one of Duke's training partners that ended up being beaten six ways to next year?"

"…What makes you say that?" The silver haired teen asked nervously, surprised that the kid guessed that he got his butt handed to him by the vampiric swordsman with little effort.

"It's how Duke makes friends, boy. He always goes all out in fights to prove that he is the strongest and is very interested in how people become strong. And by the way you carry yourself, you seem to be quite the accomplished huntsman student," Bo explained with a grin.

"…Yeah. He did beat me without any effort." Mercury grumbled, well aware that Duke was staring at him with mild amusement. "I was actually double-teaming him with my partner a while back and the two of us were utterly destroyed. The only one who stood a chance was our leader, and even then it was pretty close."

"Huh? Your leader stood toe to toe with Duke eh? He or she sounds like quite the formidable opponent if she was able to handle him," The youngest Faunus spoke up in surprise.

"Yes. She was quite the opponent. I'm actually looking forward to spar with her again. I always enjoy a good challenge and she one of the best I've come across in a long time…" Duke said, a small, somewhat bloodthirsty smirk forming in his mouth, unnerving Cody and even Mercury somewhat.

"And there is your lust for battle coming forth, Duke. How about you tone it down a bit before you make the two youngsters pass out. I haven't taught Cody about how to handle killing intent yet, so he's still not used to having your thirst coming out to play yet," Bo joked while patting his son on his head, instantly calming him down.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I just can't control myself sometimes. You know how it is," Duke apologized with another bow.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," The elder said while waving off the apology before noticing the time on the clock nearby. "Well, looks like it's high time for me to close up, and for Cody to head to Signal. It was nice meeting you, Duke, and it's good that you brought a friend over. Come again if you have the time."

"I'll try, Uncle. Thank you again for my sword," The swordsman said with a tiny smile before turning to the door, "Let's go, Mercury. We're done here."

"Right behind ya." Mercury nodded before turning to the father-son pair and waved at them, a mischievous smirk on his face. "It was nice meeting you two. Hope to see you two mini-forgers next time."

"I AM NOT A MINI-"

_*BAM!*_

"It's nice to see you, boy. Enjoy your day and if you fight against Duke again, try not to get killed. He has a habit of sending whoever he spars with to the hospital," Bo grinned, a fist up before his face and his son down on the floor, a large lump on his head and his eyes spinning from the blow his father gave him.

"Hehe, I'll try, old man. See ya," Mercury smirked before exiting the store and walked up to Duke, laughing as he did. "Man, that old man and his kid were riots! I can see why you like him so much. He seems pretty cool for an old guy."

"I do hold him in high regard, I won't lie. I even had a chance to become his apprentice at one point, but someone else managed to get to him before me," Duke admitted, a bitter smile on his face as he spoke.

"Oh…is that jealousy I hear?" The silver haired teen teased with a grin. "I'm surprised you let someone else be that guy's second instead of you. I would've thought you'd fight for his position or something."

"…Though I loath to admit it, the woman who became his apprentice was more qualified than I could ever hope to be," Duke muttered, "She became strong under his tutelage and her talent for learning almost everything he taught her was something I always envied. Even when we were on the same team, I held some resentment towards her, but that time has passed. The two of us have been an official team for five years now and I can honestly say that, other than you know who, she is one of the best partners I've ever had. Even after our team was disbanded due to the loss of two of our teammates, the two of us continue to do missions together from time to time. She isn't able to do much anymore due to her new job, but we're still in good graces…somewhat."

"Huh…I never knew that. Always thought that ACID was your main team." Mercury admitted.

"ACID is the mercenary team that my second partner created. Very few know about it and we almost never go on blacklisted missions together because of our other priorities," Duke explained before grabbing the hilt of his sword and gripped it tightly. "My old team will always be number one, though. It may be down to only two members, but it is a team that I will always be a part of. No matter what."

"Wow…that's deep, man," Mercury muttered, "So…what's the name of your old team, if you don't mind me asking."

Duke paused, causing Mercury to stop as well, and the old swordsman let off a sigh before looking up to the sky. Memories of his time at Atlas with his team flooded his head as he recalled the time he spent with his old team. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again, in a tone so soft that Mercury was surprised that it was coming from such a battle hungry warrior.

"We were known…as team RSBD (Rosebud). And we were, and always will be, the number one team to have graduated from General Ironwood's academy."

-Relámpagos Repairs, a few minutes later-

"Well, I'm all set and packed, Dad. Guess I better head out now." Cody said with a smile, a Beacon brand backpack by his side and now sporting a small ammunitions bag on his right hip a blue bandana with a lightning design on his head like a headband.

"Hold it son! I want to see if you got everything," Bo chuckled, ignoring his son's annoyed groan, before inspecting the teen's look. "Hmm…rocking the new look. The bandana and light vest was a good choice."

"Levy's got a good sense of taste, Dad." Cody admitted while adjusting his new bandana before looking down at his new boots. "And I like the boots she made too. I've never wear anything this high, before, but I'm not complaining.

"And the Dust weaved into the things to help you stick to walls and ceilings like your brother can makes them very efficient, as well." The elder stated before noticing something off about his son. "Hold on…looks like you're missing something…"

"If you're talking about Raging Thunder, I got it right here." The young teen said, turning around to point at his back, where his large bladed rifle collapsed into two halves was located.

"That's nice, but that wasn't what I was talking about," Bo muttered, confusing his son, before a light bulb appeared on his head and pounded a fist in his palm. "Ah! That's it! Wait here!"

"Dad…?" Cody asked, confused as he saw his father rummaging through the back of the counter, before he got up with a necklace in his hand, the large image on it being one that the young teen recognized instantly.

"…That's the rose necklace that Rubes made for me after we finished our second year, a few weeks before her run-in with that Torchprick guy and got into Beacon early. I thought I lost that."

"You did. I ended up finding it a few days ago after I did a bit of cleaning here. Don't know why it was hiding in my weapons chest, but I'm not one to look at a gift horse in the mouth," Bo smiled while walking up to the boy and placed the necklace on him.

"…Thanks Dad. I really appreciate it," Cody said softly, truly happy that his father found something he thought he lost for good, when he felt a finger touching his forehead. "Dad…?"

"Just ensuring your safety, son. I did it to your brother this morning, now it's your turn." Bo said quietly before moving his finger to his son's chest, then to his left and right shoulder respectively, and finished with a quick kiss on the forehead. "Good luck and have fun at Signal, Cody. Go out there and kick some ass."

"…Got it, Dad. Love you. I'll tell Professor Qrow and Mr. Taiyang you said hi." The huntsman-in-training muttered happily, giving the man a big hug before heading out the door.

The elder Faunus wiped a tear from his eye as soon as the door closed. It was always hard seeing his sons off, but knowing that they will soon become protectors of the world like he once was always made him proud. He was worried about their safety, yes, but he knows how well they're trained, and it also helps that they are being watched over by some of the trustworthy men he knew.

"Well, at least I still have my cute little cherry princess," The father of three grinned, "Now…best I clean up a little before Tu-"

"Mow Mow! MOW!"

"Huh?" Bo grunted in confusion, hearing a pair of familiar meows in ways he hadn't heard before, and turned to the counter, where he saw an orange cat sitting there, one looking very frantic.

"Sorbet? What's wrong? Did something happen during your task?" Bo asked, becoming increasingly worried at his normally cheerful cat's negative demeanors.

As soon as he asked, the cat began meowing at him hysterically. While most people would not be able to understand it, Bo could, due to the close bonds he had with as TGHA trainer. As the cat went on explaining, the elder Faunus's expression grew darker and darker, his right eye having long since glowing a fierce sapphire shortly after the meowing began. As soon as they were done talking, the man only had one thing to say…and do.

*_BAM!*_

"DAMMIT!"

The cat did not even so much as flinch when they heard their master roar in anger nor when he punched a hole on his store wall. Having been informed of a comrade's end does not tend to bode well at all to the one receiving the news, the kitten knew this. It instead just silently allow its master to vent and gave its silent condolences to the adult feline that passed on. He took good care of them whenever they visited and knew where to scratch them.

"Damn it all to hell! I told him that hiding at my home until it was time to go would've been safer, but he had to go and make sure his business still went strong until the end! Tukson, you fool!" The man growled, breathing heavily while his arm was elbow deep in the wall, before taking a deep sigh and pulled it out, "Then again, we weren't expecting someone to get to him so soon. He only had a few more days… Damn Tukson. You better have gone out fighting, you clawed bastard…"

"Mow…" The orange cat mewed softly, catching Bo's attention, and poked the side of its blue collar with its tail. A few seconds later, his pocket began to beep. Realizing what it was, he reached into his pants and pulled out a large blue Scroll and opened it.

"So you managed to take a picture of the scene, eh Sorbet? Glad to see you have your priorities straight. Thanks," Bo muttered, giving his cat a short nod, before focusing on the image that was sent to him.

His eyes hardened as he saw the beaten image of his friend. Having been a Huntsman for a long time, he has seen his fair share of fallen allies. This was no different. Adopting the professional monster slayer persona within him, he stared at the image with a calculating eye, trying to determine what the weapon that ended the bookstore owner's life was.

"Hmm… The way his face is damaged indicates a powerful close range firearm… Has to be a shotgun of some sort. Not only that, the indents on the face and the way his nose is flatten…he had to have been kicked as well. This means that whoever did this to him either kicked him away before blasting his face off…or done both at the same time."

Letting off a growl of frustration, the Faunus took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance, "Great…I know what kind of weapon was used, but it's generic enough that it'll be hard to get a suspect on the crime. Even that Mercury kid has a pair. _Mierda_…I need help with this."

*_tap tap*_

"Oh for… What is it now?" Bo mumbled, turning to where the sound of tapping glass was coming from, and his eyes went wide when he saw a small black bird with a tube on its back pecking on its window. There was only one person he knew that sent messages like that, and that made him let off a sigh of relief.

"Finally, he got the message. I was wondering if was just going to blow this off, but I'm glad he's taking this seriously." Bo said as he walked up the door and opened it, allowing the bird to fly in and land on his shoulder.

Giving the bird a quick pat on the head, the retired Huntsman opened the tube on its back and pulled out a rolled up piece of paper. He then began reading it, with the bird turning to look at it as well and the two cats now on this other shoulder reading as well. After a short while he began chuckling, amused by what was written on the paper, before rolling it up and pocketed it.

"Well…at least he's able to help out. Having both ground and air scouts will definitely be more beneficial than just having my cats survey the city…no offence, Sorbet," Bo stated, turning to the two cats beside him and apologized sheepishly.

"Meow ma-mow," The little cat said dismissively while waving its paws at him, telling him that it wasn't a problem.

"Thanks," He said with a smile before turning to the bird. "Ok, Paco. I got the message. Go back to your perverted master and tell him that I can't wait to meet up with him again."

With a nod, the black bird flew out of the door and into the sky, crowing as it did. Bo let off a soft chuckle once more. With a satisfied nod to himself and a silent prayer to his gone informant, the repairman headed to his counter, where he left his Scroll at, and was about to switch off the lights when it went off again. Curious as to who sent the message, he opened the device and checked to see who it was from.

"Huh? Qrow sent me a message? I wonder what this is about…" Bo muttered, wondering what his old fellow man of espionage was sending him. He pressed the button and from the message came only a few cryptic words that, if anyone else were to read it, would be thoroughly confused by what it meant.

'Tin Man comes with work, aided by the Storm's Apprentice'

"Tin Man with work? Must be Ironwood bringing his army like Ozpin guessed. Heh, sucks to be him," Bo smirked, knowing that the headmaster won't be happy about seeing so many foreign soldiers coming during a time of peace. He then looked at the second half of the message, a confused expression on his face for a while before a look of understanding formed on his face and began laughing loudly.

"Hahahaho, man! I forgot she got the job! Great Lord above, it's been a long time since I've properly seen her! I can't wait to meet up with her again!" Bo exclaimed cheerfully, happy with the apparently good news he just received, before taking a deep breath to calm down and turned to the cat that was still on his shoulder, "Sorbet, make a memo for me to get a gift for that dusty old crow later for giving me the best news I've had all day."

"Mai!" The cat saluted before jumping off the man to do just that.

"Hehe. Wow, it's been a while since I've seen her. Not since the funeral last year, if I remember right." Bo mumbled softly, shaking his head in amusement for what was about to happen, before turning to a certain picture on his counter.

Said picture had the image of four teens in it, all with white graduation caps and gowns and sporting happy looks on their faces. The first was obviously the smallest of the group, having short, dark brown hair and her eyes closed with a wide grin on her face with a peace sign in one hand and a large book on the other. The second was a bored looking white haired man with green eyes, a hand up in the thumbs up position, his graduation cap in the other hand, and a pair of wolf ears on his head. Another was a girl with long, ocean colored hair with soft sea blue eyes, waving her hand at the camera with a wide open smile on her face. The last was a familiar looking black haired man with slit red eyes and pointed ears, his arms crossed and a confident smirk on his face. Seeing the picture of the four of them brought more tears in the elder's eyes and he quickly wiped them off before focusing on the grinning dark brunette.

"It really has been while since we've seen her. I can't wait for her to arrive. There's going to be a lot of people I know that will be happy to reunite with her, especially a certain combat medic I know," Bo mumbled, grabbing the picture and held it gently for a good while before placing it back.

With nothing else to say, the man turned off the lights and locked the door to the back room. Giving himself a satisfied nod and allowing his cat to join him on the shoulder, the former huntsman walked out the door to his store and closed it. Just before he was about lock it, he paused. He then turned around and his eye widened in shock when he saw a small, dark brown cat with stripes around its body and a small disk in its mouth. Knowing who the cat belong to, he kneeled down and pet it, with Sorbet giving it a greeting, before mumbling softly to it.

"So she sent you early, eh? I taught her well…" Bo smiled before he gently removed the disk from its mouth. Noticing a small button on it, he pressed it and was pleased to hear a confident, cocky even, female voice from it.

[_What's up, Teach?! Just wanted to let you know that I'll be in town tomorrow with my boss and he even said he wanted to talk to you after he's done with The Wizard of Beacon. You know who that is. I'm well aware that Mr. Qrow probably already sent you a message about our return, so think of this as a confirmation or something, I don't care. I'm planning on spending my stay in Vale mostly at the school, but I'll pop in to say hi every now and again. Also, don't tell Lala that I'm coming. I want her and her friends to be surprised to see me, so don't ruin my fun, old man! Hasta pronto, and tell Duke that I want to see him next time you run into him. I know he's there. Love, your badass apprentice: The Violet Mage of RSBD. Or The Dust Witch of Atlas, if you prefer. I ain't picky._]

"HAHAHAHA! Oh man! Sounds like she's still as cocky as ever! So glad that some things never change!" Bo guffawed loudly in amusement. Shaking his head, the man kneeled down to the dark brown cat, gave it another pet, and watched as it nodded to him and ran off. With a sigh and a small smile, the man looked up into the sky, where he knows the cat's owner was in, and spoke softly towards it.

"Welcome home my apprentice… My niece."

Author's note:

Welp, that's the first revised chapter, folks. Not many changes to it other than fixing up Bo to match his current appearance from BLAD of RWBY and JNPR and some slight dialogue changes to make the story flow better. I also made a mention to two events that happened during break, both of which will be shown in Life at Beacon sometime in the future. All in all, not many necessary changes for this chapter, but enough to make it somewhat noticeable. As always, everyone, thank you all so much for reading this revised chapter and I hope all of you have a wonderful day.

Translations:

Mi Tarta!: My pie!

Lo siento…mis amigos. Hasta…en la otra…vida…: I'm sorry…my friends. See you…in the next…life…


	2. Enter the Newcomers

'Sup, guys? This is Black Fuego welcoming you to the revised chapter 2 of the new and improved BLAD of RWBY and JNPR: Scattered Symphony. Like the last chapter, I didn't really need to change all that much. I made the appropriate changes and updates to certain scenes to make the story flow better. I even fixed up a few things in the library scene to make it better…hopefully. With all the fixing up I made, I hope that you guys will enjoy this vamped up version of chapter 3 and I hope you guys have a good day.

Disclaimer: I don't own the RWBY series nor any other series that may be referenced in this story. I am, however, the owner of a hyperactive little black cat that prevents me from getting any sleep, especially after I come home from a long night at work. Good lord he could be a pain. At least he's cute and housebroken…

The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR II: Scattered Symphony

Chapter 2: Enter the Newcomers (Revised)

It was a bright and bustling day in Beacon Academy. School has just started, the last of the exchange students are arriving, and multiple guests and important figures are coming to the school to check it out. There was one guest in particular that was letting others know that he was around, and the way he did it brought many mixed feelings to those who saw it, especially two certain individuals.

"Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels…" Glynda grumbled as she stood beside Ozpin, the pair in the headmaster's office and looking out the window that watches over the school

"Well…running and academy and a military makes him a busy man." Ozpin admitted as he stared at the airships above and on his school before turning away. "But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore."

As he turned, the man heard the small hologram on his desk going off, indicating that he had a visitor. Knowing who it was, he tuned to the door to greet the man who was in charge of all the ships around the academy.

"Come in."

The door opened, and from it came a middle aged man with black hair and grey sideburns, a white overcoat and pants with a blue dress shirt and red tie underneath it. The man also had what appeared to be a strip of metal above his right eyebrow and only one white glove on his right hand, but it seemed like a well-known thing, as neither Ozpin nor Glynda commented on it. The moment the man came in, Ozpin placed his hands behinds his back and gave him a nod of greeting, for he was an important figure for many in their world.

"Ozpin!"

"General…"

"Please, drop the formalities. It's been too long!" General Ironwood chuckled as he and Ozpin walked towards the center of the room and shook hands before turning to the blonde spellcaster, "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."

"Oh James…" Glynda waved, feigning politeness at the tall man in front of her before turning to her boss with an annoyed expression. "I'll be outside."

"Well she certainly hasn't changed a bit…" Ironwood muttered as he watched the woman leave.

"If you think she hasn't change, you should've seen Etna when she came to visit a few months ago. Just as rambunctious now as she was back then…" Ozpin stated, taking mild pleasure in the military general's discomfort at the mention of the name, before turning towards his desk to pour his guest a drink. "So… What in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas? Headmasters don't typically travel with their students for the Vytal Festival."

"Well you know how much I love Vale this time of year," Ironwood stated as he accepted the cup Ozpin gave him before reaching into his coat to pull out a flask, which he poured into his drink. "Besides, with you hosting… I thought this might be a good opportunity for us to catch up."

"I think it's a little too early for us to meet up like this if you ask me, considering that the other person you wish to catch up with is not with us at the moment," Ozpin stated as he went to sit on his chair.

"I'm aware of that. I'd actually prefer if I do my conversations with you two separately. Makes things easier that way," Ironwood said calmly.

"Well I can certainly appreciate quality time between friends…" Ozpin agreed as he poured his own drink before turning to the white clad man in mild annoyance. "However, the small fleet outside my window has me somewhat concerned."

"Well…concern is what brought them here." Ironwood admitted, well aware of what his friend was talking about.

"I've also been told from some of our other friends, such as Kalt and Leti, that travel between the kingdoms has been increasingly difficult-"

"Oz… You and I both know why I brought those men." Ironwood spoke up, his tone much heavier than earlier.

"As does Bo. And I think he'll have a few choice words about why you brought them here once you meet with him." The headmaster stated dryly as he took a drink before letting off an exasperated sigh. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this…are just going to give off the wrong impression."

"But if what Qrow said is true-"

"If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully. Bo is already doing his part and he informed me that an old friend of ours is going to assist him when he comes here." Ozpin interrupted, staring at his friend straight in the eye, before letting off another sigh, "It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."

"…I'm just being cautious." Ironwood said firmly.

"As am I…" The headmaster affirmed, "Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsman and Huntresses we can."

"Believe me. I am. You're already well acquainted with two of them thanks to our mutual friends…" Ironwood stated, confidence strong in his voice towards the end, before turning to leave the office. Just as he was about to leave, he paused in the middle of the room, and turned his head towards his friend, "But ask yourself this… Do you honestly believe your children can win a war?"

Ozpin said nothing for a moment, prompting Ironwood to head out the door. As he left, the silver haired headmaster gave his answer, knowing that the general wouldn't hear it.

"I hope they never have to."

[_Neither do I. I understand what my boss is saying, but preparing kids for war is a bit excessive. Let the brats have their childhood. It isn't something they'll have forever, after all._]

"Heh…exactly what I said to Glynda a few days ago. Great minds think alike…" The headmaster agreed, not at all surprised by the feminine voice that was echoing in his room, before focusing his attention to the source of the voice; the holographic monitor on his desk. "So did you manage to hear everything?"

[_Yup. Thanks for setting up the connection, Ozpin. Didn't know you'd be devious enough to deceive both your old friends to allow a newbie like me to listen in on everything._]The feminine voice chirped.

"You may be a rookie in our line of work compared to us, but you are still a valuable asset nevertheless. Your opinion needs to be heard and respected just as much as ours," Ozpin explained before smirking, "Besides…your master isn't the only one who is skilled in espionage. I've done my fair share of underground work myself when I was more active."

[_I know…Teach told me all about it. He also told me something very interesting involving you and a set of triplets during a mission over at Mistral a long time ago and-_]

"Enough, please. I'm well aware of what you are talking about and I'd prefer if you don't remind me of that incident," Ozpin stated somewhat hurriedly before glaring at the monitor lightly, "You enjoy tormenting others too much sometimes. I shouldn't be surprised, though, considering who you have associated with for most of your life."

[_Eh, it's enjoyable. And it relieves stress! Main reason why I accepted my old headmaster's offer at the job. I am actually getting paid to mess with kids and beat them up! I can see why you like your job so much!_]

"Yes…this job does has its fair share of perks and quirks…" Ozpin admitted with an amused smile at the energetic voice, "So, are you still wandering around my school looking for the team you've been hoping to find?"

[_Uh huh! I've gotten lost every now and again, since this place is so big, but I'm sure to find Lala's team no sweat! Just give me some time and I'll find the kid._] The voice stated happily.

"I suggest you try the library if you're looking for her. She's just as much a researcher as you are, so she'll often spend her time there." Ozpin suggested, getting a surprised gasp in the process.

[_Gah! Why didn't I think of that!? Libraries are like candy for my relatives! Especially if they are filled with books about our areas of expertise! Thanks a lot, Ozpin, and tell Bart that I said hi and that we should catch up sometime!_]

"Haha, I'll let Bartholomew know. Enjoy your stay at my school." Ozpin chuckled as the monitor began to flicker out of existence before letting off a sigh of exasperation.

"Feh… That woman. So very different in comparison to many of her blood relatives, especially her grandfather. How Coach managed to keep up with her along with his multitude of kids, grandkids and even great grandkids up until his passing is nothing short of amazing."

-Meanwhile, Beacon Academy Library-

The Beacon Academy library, home to many forms of information, from books to computers, has always been an important place for the students of Beacon. A nice and quiet place, many young future huntsmen and huntresses spend much of their time there, either simply studying for upcoming exams or hanging out with friends and teammates for some quiet time. The library also allows people do one more thing that most students could not do all that often, even in the confines of their dorms:

"Yang Xiao Long! Prepare your kingdom for battle!"

"Bring it on!"

Board Games.

'_And…there they go. I wish that they didn't have to play in the library. It's where we study and learn for crying out loud…_' Ren thought as he began trying to ignore the shouting of the two sisters.

It was a typical afternoon for the three teams, actually. Team RWBY would engage themselves in various types of games, team JNPR would either join in or read and, oddly enough, team BLAD would often be doing their own thing, more often than not being separate from one another. The gunblader had to suppress a chuckle as he turned a page from the book he was reading, quietly amused by how a bunch of mixmatched individuals such as themselves would get along as well as they do. It was one of life's mysteries, he guessed, and quite honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way.

"…You just activated my trap card!"

"EEK!"

'_Although I wish that they would stop being so loud here, sometimes. Even Nora isn't that noisy when we're in here,_' Ren mentally grumbled as he took a glance at the table team RWBY was sitting at.

The four girls were playing a game of Remnant, a fairly popular board game where four players control each of the four kingdoms and try to conquer all the other kingdoms to win. A pretty good game, in Ren's opinion, but not something he would play in a middle of a learning facility like where they were in now. Ruby and Yang were being their rambunctious selves as usual, while Blake appeared to be lost in thought, something that was getting quite common as of late, and Weiss looked completely lost, even from his position. While the heiress was indeed a skilled gamer, it was only limited to the two or three types of genres she typically plays and most of them were on the video variety. Unless they were older games such as chess, the Ice Queen of Beacon had no chance of winning.

"_*snore* Mmm…more syrup for my pancakes, please…_"

'_And then there's my team…_' Ren thought in amusement as he turned his head, where he could see his loving and bubbly girlfriend Nora snoozing away underneath the page he just read, with a certain black cat sleeping on her head as well. The little furball came earlier in the day and was content to just sleeping on Nora's head for most of the day, which she enjoyed immensely. Quietly chuckling to himself and expertly dodging the flying game pieces coming from the other table, he gazed further towards the table to check on the other occupants.

Pyrrha and Jaune were their usual selves in front of him, with the blonde leader reading one of his favorite X-Ray and Vav comics before it was stolen by his red haired girlfriend and replaced with a textbook. Not even a moment later, she began reading it herself with an excited expression on her face, and Ren had to will himself to not laugh at the silliness of them all. Behind the couple were Ash and Dia, the partners sitting in front of a book case with the powerhouse rocking his head to some music from his silver headphones, his eye twitching in annoyance briefly whenever the sister got a little too loud, while the archer appeared to be writing something if the paper in her hand was anything to go bye. She even had her tongue sticking out slightly and looking back and forth between her paper and her active Scroll beside her, which was a sign that she was in the middle of either writing or transcribing a song for her team. An odd talent she had, but Ren had long since given up on the mystery that was Diantha Adamas…and was silently patting himself on the back for not saying it right, lest he get a tongue lashing from the girl in question.

"Ok then… Mixing Water and Wind Dust will allow the ability to create ice without the need for Ice Dust, while Water and Fire can form steam or mist depending on the heat and cold ratio… Better take note of that."

'_And of course the one place where it would make sense for the narcoleptic ninja to be asleep is where he is at his busiest._' Ren thought in amusement as he turned his head to the spot in front of Jaune, where he saw Baltazar writing on a piece of paper while mumbling to himself, with a few books to his left, his Scroll and gauntlets to his right, and a total of six different vials of Dust above the paper. It looked like the ninja was working on a new project involving the Gentle Storms and, judging from the intensity in his normally relaxed eyes, it looked like whatever he's working on has taken his full attention. Even Levy, who was sitting beside both him and magenta eyed teen, had her eyes away from the multitude of medical texts that were stacked beside her to look at her cousin with a bemused expression. He was so focused that he didn't even flinch when a flying game piece flew out of team RWBY's table and bounced on his head before hitting Jaune on his breast plate.

"Wow… I'm surprised by how much work you're able to do right now, considering the noise and flying game pieces behind you and hitting you in the head," Jaune muttered quietly, with Levy and Ren nodding in agreement.

"It's a skill I developed while being friends with Yang for three and a half years. It's the only way for me to get work done," Baltazar droned, not looking away from his work and surprising the others that he was listening enough to respond. With nods of satisfaction, Jaune returned to his book, his expression dejected once more when an attempt to get his comic back failed, while Levy and Ren focused their attention to the girls on the other table when they noticed who's turn it was now.

"Well, Weiss, your turn," Yang grinned, having successfully countered her now depressed sister's assault and now waiting for the heiress's move.

"I have… Absolutely no idea what's going on." Weiss admitted while staring at her cards in confusion.

"Heh, wow. Hard to believe that our resident gamer princess has a hard time playing a simple board game." Yang teased lightly.

"Well, I really haven't played these types of games growing up. I had virtual games on hand more often than not and the only board game I've played when I was young was chess, and you know how good I am in that game." Weiss explained.

"And yet you still can't beat Levy in a match. Guess that makes her the true Queen of Chess, eh?" Dia quipped from her spot, recalling that her medically inclined teammate was a very skilled chess player.

"This is Levy we're talking about. She can beat me with her eyes closed, you know that," The heiress smiled while looking at her childhood friend, who smiled back at her kindly.

"Look, it's easy! You're playing as Vacuo which means all Vacuo-based cards come with a bonus!" Yang explained as she grabbed her shoulder in a half hug.

"That sounds dumb…" Weiss muttered as she allowed her teammate to check her cards and assist her.

"…She's walking into a trap," Dia snickered as she realized what her fellow blonde was doing.

"See… You've got Sandstorm, Dessert Scavenge-" The brawler muttered while shuffling around the heiress cards before finding something interesting, "Oh! Oh! Resourceful Raider! See, now you can take Ruby's discarded airfleet-"

"Noooo…" The young leader cried.

"-And put it in your hand! And since Vacuo warriors have an endurance boost against natural hazards, you could use Sandstorms to disable my ground forces and simultaneously infiltrate my kingdom!" Yang said cheerfully, finishing her explanation to the still skeptical Weiss, before glaring fiercely back at her, "Just know that I will not forget this declaration of war."

"And that means…?" Weiss asked slowly.

"It means you're three turns away from conquering Remnant, _Querida_…" Baltazar muttered, not bothering to even look at the table behind him, causing Ren, Jaune, Pyrrha and Levy to look at him in surprise.

"He's riii-i-i-ight!" Ruby wailed.

"Huh…I didn't know you played Remnant the Game, Baltazar. You were always more into video games than anything," Levy muttered with a bit of a laugh when she noticed her cousin's eye began twitching a bit.

"…Yang forced you to play with her often, didn't she," Ren guessed dryly, knowing full well what the answer was, and didn't even looked up from his book to see the depressed ninja nodding slightly in confirmation before doubling his focus on his work.

Weiss simply sat in her chair, quietly processing what she just heard, and took another look at her cards, before rising up from her seat with a tyrannical expression on her face.

"Yes! Fear the almighty power of my forces! Cower as they pillage your homes and weep when they take your children from your very arms-"

"Trap Card."

"Huh?"

"Called it," Dia snickered, well aware that the brawler set the heiress up, and watched as Yang rearranged the board to her favor.

"Your armies have been destroyed." Yang chirped.

"I hate this game of emotions we played!" Weiss whined, river of tears falling from her face as she sat down, when Ruby suddenly appeared in her lap and began hugging her.

"Stay strong, Weiss. We'll make it through this together…" Ruby cried, tears waterfalling off her face as well as she buried her face into the crook of her partner's neck.

"Shut up! Don't touch me!" The heiress shouted back, gripping her leader tightly as she continued to cry.

"And there goes the water works. So much for getting to listen to some good songs," Ash sighed in mild annoyance as he took off his headphones to stare at his leader, "Hey Balto. Your girl and your brother's girl are crying into each other's arms again. Wanna get them to quiet down?"

"…"

"…Dude?"

"He's gone, Ash. You can't get to him," Ren stated as he noticed the ninja was now focusing on his work to the point of ignoring everything else.

"Oh for crying out loud," Ash grumbled as he got up to his leader and went to grab his shoulder. "Hey, Balto. Can you stop working on that thing of yours and-"

*_BZZRT!*_

"GAH!"

*_Thud*_

_*hssss*_

"Heh…looks like Sparky's Dust imbued coat is working it's electrified magic," Yang smirked as she saw the toasted redhead on the ground, taking a brief look at the still busy forger, who was now inspecting his gauntlets and wasn't even aware that he fried his teammate, before turning to her partner, who had a distracted look on her face. "Alright Blake, you're up!"

"Huh?" Blake mumbled, startled a little by being called out, before recomposing herself. "Oh! Umm… Sorry, what am I doing?"

"You're playing Vale, trying to conquer the kingdoms of Remnant!" Yang explained.

"Right…" Blake nodded with a weak smile.

"Hey! Can I-"

*_stomp*_

"OW! Jaunester! Still hurt down here!"

"Woops! Sorry, Ash," Jaune said sheepishly, removing his foot from the still down flirt, before turning back to the girls. "So… Can I play?"

"Sorry, Jaune. We've already got four people and I already promised Dia that she'd takes the spot on whoever loses first." Ruby said apologetically.

"I will murder your people and take all your land as soon as I am on that table, Dragon Breath!" Dia shouted while pointing her finger at her buddy in blondness.

"Hah! I'd like to see you try, Flower Girl!" Yang taunted back.

"Besides, this game requires a certain level of tactical cunning that I seriously doubt you possess." Weiss spoke up in a smug tone.

"Says the girl…who attacked…her own naval fleet…two turns ago…*_cough, chough*_" Ash mumbled with a slight cough in the end.

"How did you know that?" Blake asked curiously, knowing that the fiend on the ground wouldn't normally pick up on something like that when he had his music on.

"She…complained…really loudly…when it happened… Wasn't…able…to listen…to…Caffeine…all that…well…" The pained flirt explain as he slowly got up, causing the heiress to pout at the correct statement.

"Bring it on, Ice Queen. I'll have you know that I've been told that I'm a natural, born leader!" Jaune boasted with his chest up high.

"By who? Your mother?" Weiss taunted.

"And Pyrrha!" The blonde swordsman confirmed shamelessly.

"Hello again!" Pyrrha waved.

"Even your boyfriend said that I'm a good leader," Jaune said smugly before turning to the ninja behind him. "Right, Baltazar?"

"…And if I use this kind of metal, I will be able to safely conduct the Dust and-"

"Baltazar!"

"Huh? Did you say something, Jaune?" The lightning ninja questioned with a confused expression on his face as he turned to a now dejected looking Jaune.

"Well…I guess that's your answer, then," Weiss smirked, well aware that the ninja didn't hear a single word Jaune said and used it to her advantage.

"C'mon! Let me play your hand for a turn! Games like this are my forte, I can win for you!" Jaune begged while Baltazar shrugged to himself and went back to his work.

"I am not trusting you with the good citizens of Vacuo!" Weiss argued.

"Ice Queen, just swallow your pride and let the dude play. He can't be worse than you, so you'd be in the clear," Ash grumbled as he popped his back and glared at his busy and oblivious leader.

"No way! Vacuo will win under my reign and my rein alone!" Weiss stated stubbornly.

"Come on, Weiss. You trusted me with way more important stuff before! I mean, you told us all that Blake and Baltazar are secretly Fau-"

"Fun-loving people whom we all admire and respect!" Pyrrha interrupted, having rushed over from her seat and covered her boyfriend's mouth with her hand before he accidentally revealed the secret.

"Nice save," Dia muttered in approval, unaware of Levy's confused expression.

"Really? I thought the secret was that they were Fau-"

_*BZZRT*_

"EEK!" The medic squeaked, effectively interrupting her before anyone could shut her up, when a jolt of lightning suddenly jumped from the gauntlets the lightning ninja was working on, who simply stared back at it curiously.

"Woops… Still unstable. Gotta fix that before I am able to test it for battle. Hehe… Sorry, Levy." Baltazar apologized with a sheepish laugh, unaware that he had inadvertently prevented her from giving away the fact that he and his fellow ninja were essentially cat people.

"Well that was convenient…" Ash grumbled as he stared at his leader, who simply went back to work after his apology, before he, and the others, turned to Blake with sheepish smiles, noticing the irritated expression on her face.

"Right… That…" Jaune said embarrassingly while sharing a glance with Levy, who looked mildly ashamed of herself, before bowing to them. "Ladies…enjoy your battle!"

"'Sup, losers!" Sun greeted as he walked up to the others, standing behind Blake, and gave his friends the peace sign.

"Yo, Abs. Showing off your goods, I see," Ash smirked with his arms crossed as he gestured to the monkey teen's six pack.

"You know it, my man," Sun grinned before tilting his head in curiosity once he noticed the state he was in. "…What happened to you? Got in a fight with a lightning storm?"

"…You could say that," Levy giggled while Ash began glaring at his busy leader with renewed vigor at the mention of his appearance.

"Uh…huh… Alright then," Sun shrugged with a grin before he turned to the girls on the table near him. "Ruby, Yang, Blake, Ice Queen…"

"Ash, I blame you for making everyone call me that!" Weiss cried out while glaring at the unapologetic redhead behind her.

"You make it too easy, Queenie!" Dia spoke up with a mischievous grin.

"I never got a chance to formally introduce you my old friend." Sun continued while gesturing to Neptune, who was standing right next to him.

"Uh… Aren't libraries for reading?" Neptune asked in confusion.

"THANK YOU!" Ren shouted with his hands in the air.

"*_snort_* PANCAKES!" Nora cried out, now fully awake due to her boyfriend's yelling.

"MEEW!" Charcoal mewed shortly after, a little startled by the sudden awakening of its bed, before calming down and nestled in the awoken bomber once more.

"Shut up. Don't be a nerd." Sun grumbled.

"Ge-ge-ge-ge! Intellectual. Ok. Thank you." Neptune argued before turning back to the others, "I'm Neptune."

"So, Neptune, where are you from?" Weiss asked, curious about the friend of the monkey tailed rapscallion she still wasn't sure of.

"Haven…" Neptune answered, looking at the heiress coolly and walked up to her, "…And I don't believe I caught your name…Snow Angel."

'_Uh oh…_' Came the thought to most of the people in the vicinity, even Sun.

"Crap…! I knew I forgot something!" The Monkey Faunus growled to himself, wilting a little at the annoyed expressions he was getting from some of his new friends.

"Um… I'm Weiss." Weiss responded a little unsurely.

"Pleasure to meet you," Neptune said smoothly.

"Sun! Stop him!" Jaune hissed, startling Sun and prompting him to go to his best friend.

"Ah, uh, Neptune! Before you try and work your magic…there's something you need to know about Weiss," The staff expert spoke up nervously.

"What? I'm just being friendly with her. Honest," Neptune grinned while scratching the back of his head, while Weiss noticed the off looks her friends had. It took a while for her to connect the dots, but once she did, she began blushing a bit and turned to the blue haired teen with an apologetic expression.

"Oh…well…Neptune, I'm flattered that you think that way about me, really, but I think that you need to know that…I'm taken… Sorry," Weiss admitted, catching Neptune by surprise, and making Sun and some of the others to sigh in relief.

"Really? I guess I should've known. After all, no one as beautiful as you deserves to remain single," Neptune said with a mild tone of disappointment before perking up. "So…who's the lucky man that had manage to win you over?"

_*SHINK*_

"Yipe!" Neptune screamed when a small shuriken suddenly flew right past him and embedded itself into the bookshelf behind him, a small lock of his hair caught in it and a hint of red could be seen on it. The others were surprised by the sudden appearance of the projectile as well, and turned to the only person they know personally that used such tools, who was looking at his current project with as much surprise as the others.

"…Woops. Thought I took out all the shuriken from this thing before I came here. Better double check to make su-"

_*Bop!*_

"Ow!" The ninja grunted while holding his head in pain before turning behind him to glare at the person who karate chopped his head, as the others began to chuckle a little at his reaction. "Weiss? What was that for?"

"That was for that accidental discharge from your weapon, you dolt!" The heiress stated sternly, unaware of the stares and soft laughs she was getting due to her wording. "How many times have I told you not to work on your more dangerous projects in the library? You could've seriously hurt yourself if you weren't paying atte-Oh dear Lord, you hurt yourself…"

"Huh?" Baltazar tilted his head in confusion while Weiss placed a hand on her forehead when he felt something wet dripping from his right hand. He looked at it, and quirked an eyebrow when he realized that there was a fairly large gash on his palm, given to him by the misfire moments ago.

"Oh… Well… This is awkward…" He muttered with a shrug as Levy immediately began healing the wound while Weiss took out a roll of bandages from her bag and began wrapping his hand.

"Don't heal him completely, Levy. Let him keep a bit of the gash as a reminder to not do this kind of stuff again… Even though he might forget it the next day," Weiss suggested with a tired sigh in the end, causing the medic to giggle at her actions, before turning to the bemused Faunus before her with a soft, yet weary expression. "What will you do without us, Dear…?"

"Heh… No idea. And I am in no hurry to find out," Baltazar stated with a warm smile on his face, causing Weiss to smile back at him before returning her attention to bandaging his hand.

"Uh… What just happened?" Neptune muttered as soon as the shock from nearly having a razor sharp metal star imbed itself into his skull moments ago.

"The answer to your question, dude," Ash spoke up as he slung his arm around his fellow ladies' man and plucked the shuriken from the bookshelf in the process. "That's who the Ice Queen is going out with, my leader Balto. Pretty nice guy when you get to know him, but he has his quirks here and there, like working on his weapons in the library and sleeping in the statue over at the courtyard a few times. There is one little quirk, however, that you should be aware of…"

"And…what quirk is that?" The blue haired teen asked curiously.

"Balty's overprotective as heck when it comes to his friends! Especially Weissy! He was even about to lash out on Ashy's mom when they first met because she had Weissy in her arms and was crushing her to death before she let go and tried to crush him with affection! Right, Kitty?" Nora chirped as she pet the cat on her head, recalling what Levy told her and the others about what had happened that caused the incident that made both Ash and Baltazar fight for the position of leader many months ago.

"Meow…" Charcoal sighed in agreement, enjoying the petting it was getting.

"Ah… the overprotective type, eh? I understand," Neptune smirked, causing the others to look at him strangely.

"Uh…hey, Neptune? What are you thinking about?" Sun asked nervously.

"You'll see." Neptune assured before focusing his attention back to the white and blue couple.

"Ah, that's better. Now I can work on my projects without dripping blood on them again," Baltazar muttered as he flexed his bandaged hand briefly, ignoring the strange looks he was getting, before turning to his girlfriend with a small, kind smile, "Thanks _Querida_, you're the best."

"Think nothing of it, Dear. Happy to help." Weiss smiled and gave the ninja a peck on the lips before gesturing to Neptune. "Baltazar, I'm sure you didn't know that he came, but Sun showed up with an old friend of his and introduced himself to us before you nearly struck him with that shuriken that you accidently fired. How about you say hi and apologize as well?"

"Sure thing," Baltazar nodded before turning to Neptune and stuck his bandaged hand out to him, "Yo, bud. _Me llamo Baltazar Azul_. Sorry for nearly impaling you with one of my shuriken. I thought I took them all out before I got here, but it looks like there's a few stragglers left in it."

"Its fine, man. Don't worry about it. I'm Neptune Vasilias. It's nice to meet you." Neptune greeted while shaking the shorter teen's hand. "Hey, if you don't mind me saying, you have yourself one good looking girlfriend. I bet you must feel like the luckiest man in the world for having someone like her in your life."

"More than you can imagine," Baltazar said seriously, scaring most of his friends as he began staring at Neptune in the eyes, his normal brown eyes flashing blue briefly behind his tinted glasses.

"That's right, Sparky, and he really likes Weiss, too, just like you! He was flirting with her, calling her Snow Angel and everything! I honestly think it would've worked on her too, if she wasn't with you." Yang grinned, causing Weiss to blush a little and making the area grow cold almost instantly.

'_Yang, what have you done?!_' The majority of the group thought in fear. The only ones who were not freaking out were, Levy, Weiss, and, oddly enough, Ren and Nora.

"Really? I see…" Baltazar said calmly, his eyes being hidden now by the glare of the light reflecting off his glasses, before turning back to Neptune, who was simply grinning back at him with his arms crossed and not even trying to deny the accusation.

The place remained quiet, almost no one not daring to take a breath, as they fearfully wait for whatever action the lightning ninja might take. Due to his general laidback and nonchalant demeanor, it was typically pretty hard to determine what Baltazar was thinking most of the time. This becomes especially so when he adopts a more stoic expression, like he is currently doing. As such, it was hard to guess what he was going to do, and Ruby, Blake, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ash, Dia and Sun were all very afraid of what might happen. Yang, Levy, Weiss, Nora and Ren were silent and staring at Baltazar as well, but were not as worried as the others. Neptune, however, continued to remain calm and simply stared back at the shorter teen with a small smile. It was a few more agonizing seconds, with many looking at each other wondering what was going to happen, before Baltazar did something that almost no one was expecting.

He smiled and laughed.

"Hehehe, well, good to know that there's someone out there that has good taste in women." Baltazar said kindly and gave Neptune a thumbs up.

"Back at ya, man. And from what I see, you're treating her right! Keep up the good work, man. I can tell she's special, so do your best to take care of her," Neptune smirked.

"Thanks, bud. And don't worry, I'll take care of her with my life. Count on it." Baltazar said with a firm nod before holding his fist up to the tall teen, causing him to smirk and send his fist forwards to meet with his, resulting in a friendly fist bump.

"WHAT?!" The surprised group shouted in alarm, while Yang and Nora began laughing began laughing at their expressions. Ren and Levy simply shook their heads in amusement while Weiss placed a hand on her ninja's arm and looked up at him knowingly.

"You drew out the silent, contemplating act just to mess with everyone, didn't you?"

"Hey, gotta have my fun too, you know. And I never get tired of messing with people's heads. It's too enjoyable," The lightning ninja shrugged with a small grin.

"…I am so confused right now," Ruby muttered while holding her head.

"It's like Nora said! Sparky is very overprotective! That doesn't mean he gets jealous easy. In fact, Sparky hardly ever gets jealous when guys try to flirt with Weiss because of how much he trusts her and her ability to scare off those who are persistent." Yang explained cheerfully.

"Ren's like that too! He doesn't worry about guys trying to hit on me because all I have to do is bring out Magnhild and break their legs!" Nora chirped, causing everyone to look at her strangely.

"If anything, it's Weiss who's the jealous type in their relationship. She can be quite possessive of him from time to time," Ren spoke up.

"What? I'm not the jealous type! What makes you say that!?" The heiress asked heatedly.

"Caldera?" Levy giggled, causing her childhood friend's eye to twitch at the reminder of the bratty woman.

"Ugh…you had to remind me of that good for nothing skank. No offense, Ash." Weiss mumbled, glancing at the still slightly smoking redhead.

"None taken. My cousin's a bitch. No question there," Ash dismissed, prompting his leader to turn to him and finally notice the burnt state of his teammate.

"Ash…? What happened to you? You look like you stuck a fork in a toaster or something…" Baltazar pointed out, only to receive an annoyed glare in response. "What?"

"So…Baltazar. You don't get jealous often, huh? I would've thought you'd threaten to gut Neptune and use his intestines as cat food for your dad's TGHAs for trying to make a move on Weiss…" Sun admitted curiously, causing Neptune to blink a couple times before staring at the Tiger Faunus oddly.

"Tactic 3-1-20? Nah, I wouldn't do that. Neptune looks like a nice guy who knows how to take a hint, and I don't need Charcoal to tell that he's a good person. Kinda reminds me of a gentlemanly Ash if you ask me," Baltazar explained, gesturing to the amused, if slightly frightened, bluenette before pointing at his head. "Besides, he has blue hair and makes it look good. Seriously, how many people do you know that can rock blue hair?"

"…Besides you?" Jaune mumbled with a bit of a chuckle, reminding the ninja before him that he also had a bit of naturally blue highlights in his hair akin to Ruby's red highlights.

"…I have the oddest friends ever," Blake muttered quietly.

"Of all time." Yang affirmed with a grin, getting multiple nods of agreement from said odd friends.

"Hehe, no argument here," Sun chuckled before looking down to Blake and what was on the table. "Huh? Remnant the Game. I never took you as the board-game-playing type."

"Right…" Blake muttered before setting her cards down and got up, "Well, I think I'm done playing, actually. I'll see you guys later."

With that, the young kunoichi left the library, not looking back at her friends as she walked. Her actions confused her friends, causing them to look at each oddly.

"Women…" Nora shrugged.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Dia snorted, causing everyone to stare at them in disbelief, even the cat.

-Beacon Academy Courtyard, afternoon-

Velvet Scarlatina, one of the many upperclassmen in Beacon, was having a nice time walking around the courtyard of the school. Her team wasn't scheduled for a mission for a while, so she decided to spend her free time to take a walk and meet the newcomers. It was a pleasant change of pace from her normally busy schedule, and she was planning on taking advantage of it.

"Dammit! Where the hell is the freaking library! I've been searching for it for hours!"

"Huh?" Velvet muttered in confusion, and turned to the source of the voice to see a woman easily a few years older than her. She had short, dark brown, nearly black hair with red goggles on her head, expressive green eyes, a long red-violet vest with many trinkets such as a small magnifying glass and a small notebook over a long sleeved baggy black shirt, red, fingerless gloves, a pair of violet colored striped knee length socks and black sandals. She had her back facing the confused Rabbit Faunus, allowing her to see an image of an open book with flames coming out of it on her back, a book strapped to the back of her waist and a whip rolled up beside it. Although she had no idea who the woman was, Velvet was able to tell one thing about her.

"She's a huntress, and a strong one at that. Her power's on par with Professor Goodwitch, and she's only a few years older than me. Wow…" The bunny girl muttered, a little on edge to see such a powerful looking person before her.

"Grr… For the love of Boss's pile of scrap bots, this is getting me nowhere! I can't find it, Horchata can't find it! And now that Oz severed our connection, I can't get him to help me anymore! And there's no way I'm going to Teach for this! He'll just make fun of me and my lack of direction again! Dammit, Buelo, why, of all the things I had to inherent form you, was freaking that!? I'd be happier with gardening that this!" The woman shouted to the air with a fist towards it, causing Velvet to sweatdrop at her actions before nervously approaching her.

"Uh…excuse me? May I help you?" The upperclassman asked, catching the huntress's attention.

"At last, some help! Everyone's been avoiding me like a crazy person ever since I got here and no one's willing to even make a glance at me because they think I'm nuts!" The woman shouted before rushing over to Velvet and grabbed her shoulders, "Please! You have to tell me where the library is! I was told that the person that I want to meet is there right now and I want to see her badly! Tell me where it is, now!"

Velvet went wide eyed as soon as the woman grabbed her. She didn't notice earlier, but she was able to see three different bands on her body; a pair of small bracelets and a choker, and she was able to sense that they were used more often than the whip on her back. All three bands were Dust powered and emanating strong energy. If the student had to guess, then the woman was just like her.

"You're a mage." Velvet muttered quietly in surprise.

"Huh? Of course I am! I'm actually surprised you didn't recognize me sooner! I'm quite famous after all!" The woman grinned before stepping back and pointed to herself. "I am one of the best huntresses to have come out of the greatest hunter academy in all of Atlas, a powerful mage through and through, and one of the greatest Dust researchers ever! I am Ironwood's new assistant director, the Schnee Dust Company's regular Dust consultant, and an all-around badass if I do say so myself! People call me The Dust Witch or the Violet Mage, but you can call me Rita!"

"Rita…?" Velvet repeated, a little confused by the name.

"It's short for my full name, but I prefer to be called Rita than anything. Heck, I got a load of relatives that go with shorter renditions of their names. Except Buelo. His was short enough that folks didn't really need to do it for him." Rita explained, her eyes now possessing a faraway look, as if recalling a good memory.

"Buelo…?" Velvet muttered, mostly to herself, as she began realizing something. '_That name…why does it sound so familiar…?_'

"It means Gramps in my dad's native language. He and his family are from a certain part of Vacuo where they speak that language a lot, so he made it a point to teach me, my three younger sisters and my older brother the language." Rita stated with her arms crossed.

"I see…" Velvet said, nodding in understanding, before smiling at the huntress, "In any case, if you're looking for the library, it's in the main building. Just keep walking and you'll be able to find it no problem."

"The main building!? Why didn't I think of that!? It's so freakin obvious!" The huntress exclaimed loudly, her hands into the air and startling Velvet, before reaching to one of the pockets in her vest and pulled out a red-violet Scroll and activated it. "Horchata! You're closest to the main building! I need you to look for the library there and find Lala and her friends! Notify me as soon as you find them! I'm going to find a place to rest and wait for your response! My feet are sore and I am not going to walk around this freaking place anymore! You have your orders, so follow them to the word, understood!?"

_/Mai!/_

'_What the…? Did I hear a meow from the Scroll?_' Velvet thought in surprise as the eccentric young woman before her deactivated her tool and placed it back in her vest pocket.

"Ok, now that that's done, I better head over to my place and wait. Hope they take their time, though. I could use a little rest." Rita sighed before turning to Velvet with a smile. "Hey rabbit girl. Thanks a lot for helping me out. I think I should give you something in return. Give me a second and I'll fish something out."

"Huh? Oh, no! It's fine! You don't have to give me anything!" Velvet said as she brought her arms up to deny the gift.

"Nonsense! All good deeds deserve a reward! It's what Buelo taught us and it is something that we will live by to this day!" Rita exclaimed once more before bringing out a small vial of dark purple powder and handed it to Velvet.

"…What's this?" She asked curiously.

"A special type of Dust I developed alongside the Schnee Dust Company that I named Void Dust. Takes the suction and absorption properties of certain types of Dust like wind and fire and amplifies them, allowing it to drain the energy of other types of Dust and store it in the weapon it is in. The Dust itself is only capable of absorption, but it does have an odd side effect of enhancing one's stealth if they have an affinity toward it. You can either use it for yourself or give it to someone you know, it's yours to do however you want." Rita explained with a smirk before forcing the vial into Velvet's hand.

"Oh…um…thank you, Ms. Rita. I'm happy to accept this." Velvet said with a bow.

"Think nothing of it! Now, if you don't mind, I got a coliseum to look for again!" The huntress announced before clapping her hands.

As soon as she did, her anklets began to glow gold and a yellow glyph suddenly appeared below her feet before disappearing. Not a moment after that, the woman jumped, but instead of falling back down, she remained floating in the air. Velvet, along with other spectators, went wide eyed at the sight of the now floating girl, and said floater simply grinned and gave the stunned bunny girl a peace sign before taking off in a random direction. As she left, Velvet saw the book on her back, flapping about, and began noticing something underneath the book that caused her to gasp at what she saw: an emblem.

It was an image that she had seen a few times in her first year. The symbol of one of Beacon's old instructors that had long since retired and had passed away a few years ago. A symbol that was still in some texts in the library she found, most of them regarding to close combat. A symbol that she had seen much more recently as of late, but not on any site or text, but on someone else, a certain first year student to be exact.

The image? A crescent moon with three swirls beside it.

The same emblem that Levy has.

-Evening, Team RWBY's dorm room-

_"Brothers of the White Fang, why are you aiding this scum!?"_

_"The White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."_

It was evening now, a good few hours since Blake left her friends, and the young Faunus could be seen sitting on her bed and hugging her knees, thoughts of the raid she and Sun thwarted with a little assistance from Charcoal echoing in her mind.

As those thoughts went on in her head, she began recalling her meeting with Ozpin shortly after her ordeal, which also included a guest that she wasn't expecting, and, from what she remembered, neither did her headmaster.

_-Flashback, Beacon Academy, a few weeks ago-_

"_Well…this has certainly been an eventful evening. I'm sure that after a night of thwarting attempted robbery you probably just want to go home and take a nap, but… I was hoping that maybe we could have a chance to talk." Ozpin said calmly as he set his cup and cane down and, he and Blake sitting in a room by themselves, which housed only a table, a couple chairs, and a ceiling light._

_"Of course," Blake responded._

_"Wonderful!" Ozpin smiled as he nodded before continuing, "As you know, in order to enroll at my academy, students must first pass a rigorous entrance exam. Most applicants spend years of preparation training at one of the many combat schools around the world… You are one of the few who did not. And you passed the exam with flying colors."_

_"I was raised outside the kingdoms. If you can't fight, you can't survive." Blake explained._

_"Well…one of your friends was also raised outside the kingdoms, and ended up going to a combat school in on of Vale's territorial islands, as you know." Ozpin pointed out before shaking his head, "But I digress. You have most certainly survived, Blake. I admire your drive and I am proud to run a school that accepts individuals from all walks of life. Rich. Poor. Human…"_

_A sip._

_"…Faunus."_

_Blake began to glare at Ozpin, not happy that he was openly pointing out her race, before the headmaster continued on. _

_"Why do you wear that bow, Blake? Why hide who you are? Your fellow Feline Faunus friend has multiple reasons, and multiple ways, to hide his heritage, yet he did not until recently. Why do you?" He asked._

_"You may be willing to accept the Faunus, Professor Ozpin, but your species is not…" Blake stated, "Besides, you know how dismissive my friend is about these things. The only reason he's even bothering with hiding his true self is to protect Weiss, and that's more than a good enough reason for him."_

_"True…but we are continuing to take strides to lessen the divide. Forjador is a good example of what we are hoping to achieve, as you have seen." Ozpin pressed._

_"With all due respect, you need to start taking some larger strides. You know as well as I do that even Forjador is not safe from prejudice despite the city's accepting nature. It's why very few are aware that Azure Armory Inc., one of Vale's most well know weapon forgers, is run by a family of Tiger Faunus. Until then, I'd rather avoid any unnecessary attention. I want people to see me as who I am. Not what I am." The Cat Faunus explained bitterly._

_"And what are you?" Ozpin questioned, catching his student off guard._

_"I…don't understand what you're asking," Blake admitted._

_"How did you know that the White Fang would be at the shipyard tonight?" The headmaster finally asked._

_"I didn't… I just happened to be at the right place at the right time." Blake assured._

_"You wouldn't have been the first…but what happened tonight was not an isolated incident." Ozpin pressed, "I may be your headmaster, but I am also a Huntsman. And it is my sworn duty to protect the world from the forces that conspire against it. Blake…Are you sure there is nothing else you would like to tell me?"_

_"I'm sure…" Blake said firmly._

_"Oz, take it easy on the girl. You're stressing her out, and that is the last thing that she needs after all that has happened to her."_

_Jumping at the voice, Blake turned around and gasped at what she saw; A man who looked a couple inches shorter than her in a blue cloak with a hood, black hair, and, to her great surprise, a Grimm Mask. The man's mask, however, was different than the ones she was used to. All the ones she had seen were white with red details, mimicking the markings of the Grimm._

_This one had a blue mask with black details, and if she remembered the words of her former coworkers, there was only one member of the White Fang who donned that mask, even before the new leader took over._

_"Rayo? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be out…'reacquainting' with your former allies?" Ozpin asked in mild surprise._

_"I was, but I forgot my lucky torture knife in your office from the last time I visited you and went to get it back. Then I noticed you having a nice conversation with one of your students, so I figured I'd drop by and say hi," The man stated as he placed a gentle hand on Blake's shoulder, causing her to flinch._

_"I see. I was just finishing up actually. If you want to talk, then you're welcome to join," The headmaster suggested._

_"Nah. I'm just here for only a short while, Ozpin. We'll talk again soon, though. After my work is done," The masked man assured._

_"Ok then, I'll accept that," The headmaster nodded before turning to her stunned student and got up, "Thank you for your time, Ms. Belladonna. If you ever want to talk to me, or to someone else who can help, please don't hesitate to ask."_

_With that, the headmaster left the room, leaving Blake alone with another former associate of the White Fang. She wasn't sure what to do or say to the man beside her, and was about to excuse herself, when the man let off an annoyed sigh._

_"Heh…I told him a thousand times to not call me Rayo anymore. I am no longer amongst the members of the White Fang, so that name no longer exists," He grumbled as he took off his mask and turned to Blake, who was surprised to see that the man had only one eye, which was glowing sapphire blue with a slit pupil, while the other eye was hidden behind an eyepatch, and she knew only one person who looked like that._

_"…Mr. Bo?"_

_"Why do you sound so surprised? I gave my son permission to tell you about me, did I not?" Bo asked in a joking tone, "Besides, it's not often that I meet someone as young as you and have been with the White Fang for so long to be here and away from them. You must've hated the way it turned for the worse, eh?" _

_"You know about my…? Did Cody tell you?" Blake asked nervously._

_"Child, I've known who you are for a long while. I was the one who inspired your old mentor with his weapon, after all, and the two of you were always with one another according to the reports I've read. It wasn't hard to put two and two together," Bo stated, surprising his fellow Faunus once more, before placing his hand on her shoulder again, "Listen, Blake, I can understand what you're going through, at least a little. I've left the White Fang for the same reasons you've did, and I even resorted to move to Vale to ensure that my wife and kids are safe from them. I also tried to make sure that no one but a select knew of my time with them, but of course, kids like yourself can't help but be nosey sometimes."_

_"…You're talking about when Weiss found out, aren't you," Blake muttered._

_"Indeed. I've lost a lot of trust from her when she found out, and if I hadn't intervened, she would've revealed it to many others. I'm still not sure if I've ever fully gained her trust back. The White Fang has scarred her deeply, and she's known me for a long time. To find out that I was a part of the organization that tormented her family and kidnapped her, was devastating on her part." Bo admitted sadly._

_"But you were the one who rescued her. She knows this and understood what you had to do. She still trusts you, Mr. Bo. I'm sure of it," Blake said adamantly. _

_"Just as she trusts you, Blake, even after finding out your secrets," The elder stated, surprising the girl once more. "Listen, if you wish for people to understand you for who you are, you need to accept what you are, and not be afraid to show it to others. I'm not telling you to reveal yourself to the world, but telling your friends about this is more than enough. The more people you have that you trust, the better life you'll get and the more protection you'll have against the harshness of others."_

_Blake said nothing as she stared at the Faunus before her. She found it incredible that someone like him, who was a part of the White Fang to the point where the leader changed and actively fought against it, would still retain the kind and gentle nature she as seeing. It may have been due to the fact that he was a father, but Blake was very grateful that there were some in her old organization that tried to go back to the way things were._

_"Well, I best be going. I have a load of 'old friends' I want to meet and I haven't had a chance to use my lucky torture knife in years. I want to make sure I'm not rusty, though. I don't want to end up killing my victim again. Lord knows how that turned out, hahaha!" Bo laughed joyfully, causing Blake to sweatdrop at his questionable personality._

_"…Are all members of the Azul family this deranged or just you and your sons?" The cat girl asked dryly._

_"I'll leave you to figure that out on your own, child," Bo grinned before heading towards the door. Just as he was about to leave, he paused and turned to Blake once more, "One more thing. If you want to know more about the White Fang's plan, I suggest you go find their old haunts in the city. I know you are aware of their locations. Things are starting to pick up lately, so going to one of their rallies will help you out immensely. Take a Faunus friend with you, just in case something happens. Not my sons though. One would go on a frenzy as soon as he steps foot in it and you don't want to know what would happen if you take my oldest. Maybe that new monkey friend of yours can assist you if he's able to."_

_"…I'll think about it, Mr. Bo. Thank you," Blake said with a nod._

_"You're welcome," The former White Fang higher-up nodded back before grabbing his mask and placed it back on his face, "Now, if you excuse me, I have to instill the fear of __La Bestia del Rayo__ into some people. Have a nice night, Beauty of the Beast."_

_"You know my old title?" Blake gasped in shock, only to receive another grin in response, before the man walked out of the door with a light chuckle._

_-End Flashback-_

After that little talk, thoughts of Torchwick and the White Fang have been plaguing the girl's mind for a good while. While she was able to repress them most of the time to have fun with her friends, lately they have been more persistent, causing the drop in her mood. These thoughts were growing stronger, and she would've continued thinking like that for the rest of the night if it wasn't for the sound of her teammates entering.

"Ugh! We should have never let them played!" Yang exclaimed angrily as she and her friends entered the room, with one of them holding a certain cat on her shoulder.

"You're just mad because Dia and the new guy beat you!" Ruby giggled, both her and Yang unaware that Blake had got up, "See, if you had just attacked when I told you, none of this would have happened."

"Stop."

"Mow."

Blake stopped, her hand just inches at the door, as she realized she was caught. She didn't even sense Charcoal was sitting on Weiss's shoulder, but should've guessed. The black cat was going to be busy later on in the year, and made a point to spend as much time with her group of friends as it was able to, especially Weiss.

"Lately, you've been quiet, antisocial, and moody." The heiress spoke up as she pointed at her friend, with Charcoal nodding at every description she made.

"Uh… Have you _met_ Blake?" Yang spoke up sarcastically.

"Which I get, is kind of your 'thing', but you've been doing it more than usual," Weiss continued, prompting Blake to turn to her, "Which, quite frankly, is unacceptable."

"Meow ma-mow!" Charcoal nodded, putting its two lien in.

"You made a promise to me, to all of us, that you would let us now if something was wrong." Weiss stated calmly, before a fire began burning in her eyes and began to announce her next words, with the cat on her shoulder following suit. "So, Blake Belladonna! What! Is! Wrong!?"

"Mew!"

Everyone was struck speechless by the pair's actions. The two had, as they were asking their question, summersaulted into the air and landed on the chair that Charcoal moved earlier, and were now teetering on it, the both of them pointing their finger, or paw in one case, at the shadow ninja. Sensing that they were about to fall, and satisfied with their stunt, Weiss zipped the chair back into its place before zipping back, shuffling towards Blake in the process, and prompting Charcoal to look at the girl with big eyes, in hopes that she'll tell the others what she was thinking. It was only a few moments later, thankfully that their efforts were rewarded when they noticed that their friend decided to cave in to their request/demand.

"I just… I just don't understand how everyone can be so calm…" Blake finally admitted.

"You're still thinking about Torchwick?" Ruby asked knowingly, causing her and Yang to frown.

"Torchwick, the White Fang, all of it! Something big is happening and no one is doing anything about it!" Blake exclaimed.

"Ozpin told us not to worry. Between the police and the Huntsmen, I'm sure they can handle it," Yang assured.

"Well I'm not!" Blake shouted heatedly. "They don't know the White Fang like I do! The only other one who does who's on our side is Mr. Bo and he's only one man! Sure he has a lot of TGHA's to assist him but it's not enough! The White Fang has only gotten worse over the years and there's no way he can keep up with them!"

Hearing that statement caused the girls to go silent, contemplating what their friend just explained. As they stared, Charcoal's face perked up and its ears began to twitch before turning it's head to the door. A moment later, it jumped off the heiress's shoulder and left, but the girls paid no mind, having been used to the black cat's odd tendencies for a while now. Shortly after the cat left, however, Weiss began to speak.

"Ok…between blowing up night clubs, stopping thieves, crushing an army of rogue robots, and fighting for freedom, I'm sure the three of you think you're all ready to go out and apprehend these ne'er-do-wells."

"Uh…who?" Ruby asked, tilting her head in confusion.

"But let me once again be the voice of reason." Weiss continued undaunted.

"Says the girl who was a part of the robot slaying expedition." Yang pointed out.

"You know there was no getting out of that mess after the alarm went off. We had to fight, but let me say this. We're students, remember. We just got really lucky with those confrontations and luck can only get us so far. We're not ready to handle this sort of situation." The heiress countered, causing Ruby to stare at her and began to protest.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"We're not ready!"

"And we may never be ready!" Blake shouted, interrupting Ruby and Weiss and catching their attention. "Our enemies aren't just gonna sit around and wait for graduation day! They're out there, somewhere, planning their next move, and none of us know what it is, but it's coming! Whether we're ready or not!"

There was a brief silence after that. Neither Weiss nor Blake were willing to say anything else, lest they fall into another damning argument between them. Yang was also silent, unsure of what she should say in this situation. Thankfully, a certain sister of hers was ready to step up and come up with a solution for their troubles.

"Ok!" Ruby spoke up with her hand raised. "All in favor of becoming the youngest huntresses to single-handedly bring down a corrupt organization conspiring against the kingdom of Vale, say 'Aye'!"

"Yes!" Yang exclaimed with a fist pump. "I love it when you're feisty."

"Well, I suppose it could be fun." Weiss shrugged indifferently.

"None of you said 'aye'…" The once hyped up teen muttered sadly.

"Alright then…we're in this together," Blake smiled, happy that she was getting the support of all her friends.

"Let's hatch a plan!" Ruby announced.

"Yeah!" Yang grinned, happy to see her sister was getting so pumped about this, before said sister gasped in worry.

"I left my board game in the library!"

"We're doomed…" Weiss muttered with a hand on her forehead and shook her head in disappointment as her leader began rushing out of the room to get her game.

"I'll be right back!"

*_Bam!*_

"Oof! Ohh… Sorry…" Ruby apologized, looking up to whoever she ran into. "Are…you ok?"

"I'm fine. Just watch were you're going," The green haired girl Ruby bumped into smiled as she offered her hand to Ruby.

"Oh…Right. Sorry," Ruby apologized as she accepted the hand and got up, before introducing herself to the girl and silver haired teen and noticed the different uniforms they were wearing. "Um…I'm Ruby! Are you…new?"

"Visiting from Haven, actually," Another female voice spoke up, causing the dark skinned girl to move away to reveal the one who spoke, an ebony haired girl with one of her eyes hidden behind her hair.

"They're with me, Rose Girl. After all, can't participate in the Vytal festival tournament without my teammates." A more haughty voice said from behind the young leader, causing her to turn around to see a familiar looking blonde woman in the same uniform as the other girls with red highlights in the bottom of her twin pigtails, making them look like dipped paint brushes.

"Oh! I remember you! Caldera right?" Ruby recalled.

"That's right. And those are my teammates. The silver one's Mercury. The green one's Emerald. And the black one is my leader; the top dog of team CCME (Cremate), Lady Cinder. She's one of the best out there, so get ready to get your ass handed to you if you fight her!" Caldera grinned with her arms crossed.

"Oh, Cal, stop. I'm not that good," Cinder laughed as she waved off her friend before turning to Ruby with a smile.

"Ooooh! You're here for the festival!" Ruby exclaimed, before realizing something, "Oh! But exchange students have their own dormitory!"

"I guess we just got turned around. Caldera tried to give us a tour, since she's been here before, but she has a shoddy memory at best." Mercury smirked.

"For the last time, we're not lost. We're taking the scenic route." The blonde pouted with her arms crossed.

"Hehe, don't worry, happens all the time!" Ruby giggled as Emerald and Mercury walked passed her to follow Caldera, who was already walking away. "Uh…your building is just east of here!"

"Thanks. Maybe we'll see you around." Cinder said with a small smile as she walked passed the young leader to join her teammates.

"Yeah, maybe! Oh! And welcome to Beacon!" Ruby exclaimed, making her greeting towards the end, completely unaware of the more sinister expressions that dawned on her new acquaintance's faces.

"Hey, Ruby! Who are you waving at?" A cheerful voice spoke up from behind the young leader.

"Oh, just some new exchange students. Nothing big," Ruby grinned as she turned around, but became confused by what she saw.

It was Levy that greeted her, who had the biggest smile she had seen in her life and had her game in her hands. In fact, the little rose couldn't recall the last time the medic looked this happy, especially since what had occurred during their first week of break. It was kind of scaring her, honestly, what confused her. It was the cat sitting on her head. While something like that wasn't all that weird in her life anymore, it was the cat itself that was bothering her. It didn't look like any of the cats she'd seen Mr. Bo used. This one was brown with stripes all around its body, piercing green eyes that looked quite bored, and a violet collar. Seeing the sight of the overly cheerful healer before her was getting kind of disturbing, and Ruby couldn't hold in the question she wanted to ask anymore.

"Uh…Levy? Why are you so happy? And why do you have that cat on your head? It's not one of Mr. Azul's cats."

"It's because she's back!" Levy chirped before handing the still confused girl's game to her.

"Uh…Who's back?" Ruby asked.

"That's what we want to know," Jaune's voice spoke up as he and the others walked up from behind the disturbingly cheerful girl. "She's been repeating that as soon as that cat showed up and we have no idea what that means."

"And that's not all, either. Look at Chief." Dia stated while pointing her thumb behind her, where a traumatized Baltazar was standing with Charcoal sitting on his shoulder and rubbing his face soothingly with its face. "Ever since the brown ball of striped fur showed up, he's been scared stiff, mumbling 'She's Back' over and over again. It's driving us nuts! Think you can get Weiss out here to check these two out? I think their brains are broken."

"Uhh…Ok?" Ruby muttered in confusion before turning around to call out to her friends. "Hey guys! The others are back and brought my game! Not only that, Levy and Baltazar are acting weird! Think you can see what's wrong with them, Weiss?"

"Huh? They're acting weird? What do you mean by…?" Weiss asked as she and the rest of RWBY came out of their room, only to trail off as soon as she saw the cat on Levy's head and paled dramatically.

"Weiss? You ok, girl?" Yang asked as she waved a hand in front of the stiff girl's face.

"She's back! Oh sweet Vytal, she's back!" Weiss whimpered, further confusing her friends, before rushing over to Baltazar and grabbed his shoulders tightly, causing Charcoal to fall off of him and glare at her in annoyance. "Baltazar! She's back! We have to hide now while we have the chance!"

"…It's too late. Horchata's already here and has our aura signatures memorized. If she really is back, then there's no way to hide from her…" Baltazar mumbled fearfully before grabbing Weiss's arms as well. "Weiss, please let this be a nightmare. I don't want to go through those experiments with her again! Our last project ended with me having flashlight eyes for a week! Do you have any idea how weird it is to have eyes that project beams of light!? It messes with your head! And your vision! I'm a metal smith, not a lab rat!"

"How do you think I feel!? She forced me to do a Dust experiment with her last time she visited me and ended up making my hair change color depending on my mood! Everyone kept avoiding me because my hair kept changing from white to blue to orange to freaking pink! The color that my hair stayed the longest was red and I still have no idea why!" Weiss exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at one another, wondering what in the world was going on between the two.

"…Maybe because of how easily angry and annoyed you get? You do still have a bit of a temper…" Baltazar suggested, causing everyone to snicker at the true statement and Weiss to glare at him in annoyance.

"…Just shut up and hold me. I want to have some form of comfort before we end up being used by that witch!" Weiss hissed.

"Can someone please cut to the chase and tell us what's happening!?" Ash exclaimed, his patience having been worn thin throughout the day.

"She's here! That's what's happening! And we're doomed the moment she sees us!" Weiss yelled fearfully.

"Who is 'she'?" Nora asked.

"That…would be me."

Startled by the voice, everyone turned to see a woman with goggles grinning at them, her expressive green eyes showing a twinkle of mischief that was not hard to miss. Her presence caused a bit of confusion amongst the group, but three students in particular recognized the woman immediately.

"Oh shoot, she's here!" Weiss hissed fearfully.

"_Ay mierda_, we're dead." Baltazar mumbled in depression.

"Rita!" Levy exclaimed before rushing over to the woman and gave her a big hug, which was returned happily.

"Haha! Nice to see ya, Lala! Sorry I wasn't able to spend much time with you lately. My job makes it hard for me to travel to kingdoms and stay at other locations for a long time, but I'm here now, and I'm staying here for a good while! Bet that makes you happy, eh?" Rita grinned, the striped cat now sitting on her shoulder while Charcoal hopped on her other shoulder, and began rubbing the young medic's head.

"Yup! I missed you so much Big Sister!" Levy chirped, causing everyone to stare at the pair in shock.

"Sister!?" The teens shouted.

"That's right. I'm sure my baby sister has mentioned me a few times! My name's Rosarita Inmaculada Teresa Azucena Morado, but you can call me Rita! I'm Lala's oldest sister and one super awesome huntress and researcher if I do say so myself," Rita grinned, polishing her fingernails in pride as she introduced herself.

"Uh… Hey, _prima_?" Baltazar spoke up, catching his older cousin's attention, "Not to be rude or anything, but is there any reason why you're here with us? I know you've been focusing on your job lately ever since you and Duke lost your teammates last year, and I'm aware that General Ironwood's planning to make his big announcement to the public very soon…"

"Get to the point, Cuz. I don't have all day," Rita said rudely, her hug with her sister having long ended and was staring at the ninja impatiently.

"…This is Levy's sister?" Dia whispered, finding it hard to believe that someone like her was related to such a nice girl like Levy.

"She must take after her mom or something…" Ruby muttered, having met the medic's father during their visit to Forjador in the tour and was quite pleased with his kind and helpful demeanor.

"He's trying to ask why you are here with us. You literally have more important things to do because of your position as General Ironwood's assistant and a part-time researcher at my family's company. You should be assisting him with his big reveal instead of bothering us," Weiss explained in an annoyed tone.

"Oh, Boss gave me some time off to spend time with my family. I told him that my baby sister was going to school here, so now I have time to watch over her and see how she's progressing. Gotta keep the Morado legacy strong. Especially since she inherited Buelo's combat prowess." Rita explained, causing Levy to blush lightly at the praise, before the huntress began smiling evilly. "Which brings me to my next point!"

"And that is…?" Blake muttered in worry, not liking where this is heading.

"I want to see how strong you guys are. If you kids are good, then I'll feel better knowing that my sister's in safe hand. If not, then I'm gonna whip you all into shape until I deem you fools acceptable. I'm a certified instructor, so I can do that and no one can stop me!" Rita grinned, her expression quite cheerful and confident, as if she knew that the students had no chance of winning against her.

"Uh…Levy? How strong is your sister?" Ren asked nervously.

"You guy were told how strong Duke is, right?" Levy asked, getting nods in response, before continuing on with pride. "Rita is Duke's partner and leader of her old team, and was the only person in Forjador who could ever fight him fairly and win. Very few are able to beat my big sister! In fact, the only ones that stand a chance against her are older huntsmen like Professor Goodwitch or Headmaster Ozpin because of their experience!"

"Oh, I'm not that great, Lala, buuuut, that's pretty much the gist of it!" Rita grinned.

"…Let me get this straight, Levy. You're telling us that your oldest sister used to fight Duke, a huntsman known to send his opponents to the hospital and kill Grimm in a brutal fashion because of his lust for battle…and beat him. And she expects us first year students, who have significantly less experience, to fight against her…_and win_?!" Pyrrha asked fearfully, squeaking a little in the end as the thought of fighting someone much stronger than her began registering in her head.

"¡_Sí_!" Levy chirped with a proud smile on her face, causing Rita to smile at her sister's faith in her and caused the others to pale drastically as they realized what they had just gotten themselves. It was only a few moments later that the blonde beauty of RWBY decided to say what was on all of their minds at the moment.

"Well, we're boned…"

Author's note:

And that is the revised chapter 2, guys. As I said, not many major changes in this one. In fact, I believe this chapter, along with possibly chapter 4, will have the least amount of changes made for this story. Chapter 1 didn't have as many, but were noticeable, while Chapter 3 will possess the most changes in comparison. To be honest, I'm glad that I'm giving Scattered Symphony another shot. I will admit that I was trying too hard back at Second Verse and made it too serious, but with this, I will tone it down a notch and try my best to go back to my old style from when I was working on the first BLAD of RWBY and JNPR. Wish me luck in that endeavor, I hope you guys enjoyed the revised chapter, and I'll see you again over in Chapter 3!


	3. The Witch's Approval

Hey guys. Black Fuego here to present to you the revised third chapter of the revived BLAD of RWBY and JNPR: Scattered Symphony. As I stated in the previous chapter, this chapter has the most changes in comparison to the others, mostly revolving the fight scene and the confrontation between Bo and James. I hope the changes that I've made worked well with the story, because I will admit that the first renditions weren't that good. Thankfully the revamped parts will allow this story to flow much better than before. As always, folks, thank you guys for supporting this story, enjoy the chapter, and I'll see you at the author's note.

Disclaimer: I don't own the RWBY series nor any other references that were made in this story. I also don't own a TF2 Golden Frying pan, but if I did, I would keep it and possibly sell it for a lot of cash…unlike some TF2 player who actually deleted his pan. Seriously, who deletes a $3000 virtual weapon of mass destruction and annoyance!? That's throwing away money right there!

The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR II: Scattered Symphony

Chapter 3: The Witch's Approval (Revised)

"We are dead. We are doomed. We are finished. We are not going to survive. We are completely and utterly-"

"Weiss! We get it! We're boned six ways to Sunday! I already stated that, no need to bring it up again!" Yang growled out irritably, glaring at the rapidly pacing heiress before her.

The pair, along with their teammates and friends of teams JNPR and BLAD, were currently in BLAD's room, having been offered to join the team's room for a bit of planning for their upcoming battle against the medic's older sister tomorrow. The medic herself was not with them, however. Instead, she was with her sister to catch up on lost time. The room itself had undergo a few changes since the beginning of the semester, with a couple large bookshelves filled with Levy's medical texts, a dartboard that was very worn in the center by thanks to Dia, a few weights and a punching bag off to the side, obviously belonging to Ash, and a small workshop filled with tools, blueprints and many other items that were being used by Baltazar.

"You are severely underestimating what that witch is capable of, Yang! We might as well give up now!" Weiss exclaimed hysterically, stopping her pacing in front of Baltazar's bed to glare at Yang, who was sitting on Levy's bed with Blake.

"Oh come on. She can't be that bad! She's Levy's sister, after all!" Nora chirped, sitting on Dia's bed with Ren while Jaune and Pyrrha sat on Ash's bed.

"Are you kidding?! Rita's one of the fiercest people out there! She's cocky, stubborn, rude, eccentric, has a poor social disposition, and is not afraid to use her powers on anyone that annoy her! She even a borderline mad scientist and won't even think twice to use people as part of her experiments!" The frantic heiress hissed.

"Are you serious?" Ren muttered in disbelief.

"You're looking at two of her favorite test subjects…" Weiss grumbled, now slightly calmer, before gesturing to herself and Baltazar, who was sitting at his workshop seemingly tinkering away with another project of his.

"Weiss may be exaggerating a little bit, but for the most part, _Prima Rosarita_ is indeed that twisted most of the time…" Baltazar confirmed, not looking away from his work and effectively scaring his friends.

"I thought you said you liked her!" Ruby squeaked at Weiss, now frightened at the thought of fighting someone so scary.

"I do, but only when she's not acting like a mad scientist! She's pleasant enough when she's with family, but if she's not with them then you are doomed to be experimented on!" Weiss exclaimed, her actions erratic once more until a comforting hand from her boyfriend, who had decided to postpone his little project at the moment to try and calm her down.

"Ah hell. Are you seriously telling us that we are supposed to fight against someone who's possibly more demented than our leader?" Dia whined, crossing her arms and leaning on her partner's punching bag.

"We get it from my dad. Rita was his hunter apprentice growing up, so it's no surprise that she picked up a few things from him…" The forger sighed, not at all denying that he was a little warped in the head, before turning to the others, giving them his full attention, "Rita and Duke, along with their teammates Slate Blizzard and Brooke Rivers, made up a powerful assault team called Team RSBD, one of the best teams General Ironwood trained in his school. A strong team with good chemistry, they were amongst the best huntsmen in their generation up until last year, where they went on a mission to a certain island in southern Remnant. The four of them left the island together, but only Rita and Duke came out alive…"

"I've heard about that incident…" Pyrrha mumbled sadly as she rubbed her right arm with her left hand as she recalled the tragedy. "They went on a dangerous mission to exterminate some dangerous Grimm over at a place called Jeweled Flower Island… But the mission was mislabeled, the one who requested the mission didn't know about the dangers of that land and made the request with poor intelligence. The team went to that island completely unprepared, and in the end…only two members survived."

"Jeweled Flower Island…? She and that Duke guy went there and made it back? Mother of God…" Dia muttered in surprise, catching the other's attention, before looking away from the others, "I know of that place… Crap tons of dangerous stuff there, not just Grimm. If Team RSBD really did go there…then I'd consider it a miracle that there as even one survivor, let alone two."

"You know about that place, partner?" Ash asked curiously, sitting on a nearby desk as an odd thought formed in the back of his mind, "_Jeweled Flower Island… Ma told me about it once when she was hammered. I think she mentioned about a certain village there, but I can't remember the specifics. Why does Dee make me think about that, though…?_"

"A bit, but I can't really go into specifics. Sorry, guys, but let's just say I'll get in trouble if I say more," Dia stated with a wry smile, ignoring the looks of confusion she was getting, before focusing back to Weiss, "In any case, if we're dealing with someone who ended up going to that island unprepared and lived, then we have ourselves one hell of a fight ahead of us, eh, Weiss?"

"Oh, you have no idea…" The heiress groaned as she walked away from Baltazar and slumped onto the bed, laying down right next to Ruby, "The two of us have similar semblances and have similar fighting styles, but unlike me, who uses glyphs as support and attack using the Dust in my rapier as a medium, she uses Dust with her glyphs to actually summon or manipulate certain elements without a medium like mine. With only her bracelets and choker, she can summon flurries of fireballs, trap us in a whirlpool, strike us with a burst of rock and stone from right below us, and can even pelt us with a load of _meteors_ if she wanted to…"

"Please tell me you're not serious…" Jaune whimpered, looking white as a sheet at the thought of fighting someone like Rita.

"Oh she's serious. Her elemental manipulation via glyphs is called Caster, and with her knowledge with Dust and with the weapons she made during her apprenticeship with Pop, Rita's a force to be reckoned with." Baltazar spoke up with a grimace, scaring the others, "She is naturally able to manipulate the elements to a certain extent, but with Dust, she is able to enhance her powers and create a multitude of spells that she can beat us with. She can only use one element at a time, though, and some of her stronger techniques require a bit of time and focus to execute. Best way to fight her is through close combat, where most of us specialize in, but she has ways to counter such fighters, so we're in for a tough fight…"

"Not to mention the range of her standard techniques is quite large. Up to about five or so meters." Weiss added in, with Baltazar nodding in confirmation. "We have to be very careful when fighting her from a distance. To be honest, only I think only Ruby and Dia has a chance of taking her on in long range due to their weapons, but even then it's risky due to her skill in elemental manipulation."

"Meaning that, if she's able to see or sense them coming, she could block Ru's rounds or my arrows with a wall of stone or alter their path with some water or something. Crap, we are screwed…" Dia groaned in defeat while Ruby dropped her head in depression.

"Uh…why don't we simply allow her to train us?" Ren suggested reasonably with a shrug, "I mean, if we lose, all we'll get is some training anyways. The tournament's coming soon and I think that getting some help from an experience huntress outside our school is-"

"NO!" Weiss screamed, startling almost everyone in the room, "No! We can't afford to lose! If we do, then Rita will be not holding back on us! She will work us to the ground, force us to go past our limits, and will put us to the brink of death over and over until she deems us worthy! And she'll do that immediately! We can't afford to go through something like that right now!"

"Huh? That's an odd thing to hear from your mouth, Ice Queen…" Ash questioned in mild confusion. "You're normally all gung-ho about excelling and being the best, and from the sounds of it, training with Lev's sister, while grueling, will put us over the top. Why the change of heart?"

"…It's not the training that's the problem. It's her timing…" Weiss mumbled reluctantly.

"Timing?" Pyrrha repeated.

"We don't want to talk about it at the moment. All you guys need to know is that there's something that we need to do really soon, and if we end up being forced to do this training thing, then things will not end well for us. Trust me…" Yang stated in a serious tone.

"…It's going to involve Blake's old group, isn't it?" Baltazar muttered, his cool tone and accurate assumption causing the girls to flinch and look at each other nervously, wondering how he was able to make such an accurate guess.

"…It does," Blake said reluctantly, knowing that the jig was up, "I've been wondering what Roman and the White Fang have been up to for weeks now and it's frustrating me that no one's come up with anything about them yet. We decided earlier that we're going to look into the matter, but with Rita coming in and announcing her plans, it caught us in a bad spot."

"Do you guys want us to help out? Dealing with a group like the White Fang will be dangerous, and there is safety in numbers," Ren suggested.

"No. This has to be a team thing. We can't let you guys get involved. It doesn't concern you and we really don't want any of you getting hurt because of this," Weiss said firmly.

"And letting you guys risk your lives by yourselves to follow a kingdom renowned criminal and a group of violent extremists?! Not happening!" Dia exclaimed in concern with a heated glare at the girls.

"Dia, calm down. We're not going to head into the darker side of the world unprepared. We were going to plan on how to execute our mission before I ran into a team of exchange students from Haven. There's nothing to worry about," Ruby assured.

"But what if your plan fails! What if one of you guys gets captured or something! Hell, what if _Weiss_ gets captured! The White Fang target her company all the time! Do you think they'll pass up the chance to execute the heiress to the company they've been at war with for years!?" The archer stressed.

"Dia, I think you're overthinking this a little too much," Yang muttered with her arms crossed.

"And I think you're underestimating the severity and consequences of your little plot!" Dia shouted before turning to her leader. "Chief, can you please talk some sense into these guys?"

The teen in question stared at the blonde archer with an unreadable expression, silently contemplating on what he should say. He then glanced over to team RWBY, who were all looking at him curiously, wondering what he would say. Three of the four knew him pretty well and they honestly thought that he would voice against them going on their own. Weiss especially, because of his protective nature and her family's history with the White Fang. Yang was also thinking that, but also thought that there was a chance that he would assist them. While she wouldn't mind, there were definitely some risks involved if he joined in, especially if the borderline terrorist group discovered who he was. It was because of those thoughts that they were not expecting to hear his answer.

"…I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think it's best to let them handle it by themselves, guys," Baltazar spoke up with a tad of reluctance in his voice, getting looks of surprise from everyone in the room, especially the all-girls team.

"Seriously? I would've thought you of all people would be against them trying to find out what the White Fang are up to, considering…well…you know…" Jaune said uncomfortably while looking at Weiss, causing everyone to understand his reasoning.

"I may not like what they're planning, but they brought up some good points." Baltazar stated in a calm tone, "No one would expect a bunch of kids to try and infiltrate a borderline criminal organization to discover their plan. And such an operation requires precision and timing, something that will be nearly impossible if they end up being forced to be trained by Rita or if any of us decide to tag along. Besides, if any of us end up tagging along with them, it'll raise suspicion among the school, something that we do not want happening. If they want to do this, then they have to do it without us, at least not directly. We can help them in other ways, like beating Rita to allow them to plan and execute the mission, but other than that, it's all them, and we won't interfere unless absolutely necessary."

"But…Chief-"

"But nothing, Dia," The leader spoke sternly with his eyes flashing briefly, interrupting and startling his team sniper, "I don't like what they're putting themselves into any more than you do, but you have to think about this logically. If this is the best way for them to figure out the White Fang's plan, so be it. If you don't agree with this, then deal with it. We are being trained to deal with life or death situations, and eventually stuff like this will be the norm. I know it sucks, but the sooner you realize that, the easier it is to accept that fact."

Dia, along with a lot of the others, were speechless by the ninja's words. Many were expecting him to be the most adamant about team RWBY not going out to find out the secrets of the White Fang, but what he said did make sense. Even Weiss wasn't expecting him to be ok with it, so hearing that he was going to support her, albeit a little reluctantly, made her feel both happy and a little ashamed for not having more faith in him. Wanting to show the ninja some gratitude, the young heiress got up from her spot on the bed and walked up to him, where she proceeded to hug him in thanks

"Baltazar…thanks. You have no idea what this means to us…" The heiress said in a quiet tone.

"Just do your best to not get hurt or killed at least when you execute this mission." The ninja sighed, giving his girl a slight squeeze before ending the embrace, "Besides, I know how dark the world can be, and in some cases, the best way to rid the world of said darkness is to go to the source of it. If I remember right, there was a saying that Professor Qrow said back at my last year at Signal that pretty much sums up what you are all doing."

"_You want to set the world straight, but you will fail if you wait or hesitate. So take aim and pull the trigger back_," Yang recited with a small smile.

"There we go," Baltazar nodded as Weiss walked back to the bed with an impressed expression towards her blonde teammate.

"Ugh… Fine. We won't get involved. But if crap ends up hitting the fan, we're stepping in. No argument." Dia grumbled.

"I think we can agree to that…" Ren nodded.

"Should we tell Levy about this, though?" Nora asked.

"Bad idea, Bombette. You know she can't keep a secret. Trust me, its best that we keep this from her." Ash spoke up, feeling a little reluctant about it.

"Very true, but I know we'll feel guilty about it, though," Pyrrha sighed.

"We can tell her after this blows over. I just hope she understands why we kept this from her…" Jaune muttered.

As the seven teens talked amongst themselves, team RWBY stared at each other with tired, but grateful expressions. They knew that their friends would try to find a way to get involved, but they were grateful that they were understanding enough to allow their team only mission. With a nod to the rest of the team, the young leader cleared her throat in order to catch her friends, with much success.

"Thanks guys. We really appreciate it. And sorry for not letting you guys in on this." Ruby said kindly.

"You dudes owe us big time for getting our asses kicked and covering your asses in the near future. I can tell we are going to be in for a world of hurt tomorrow…" Ash groaned.

"Oh like you wouldn't go through this again if we had to. You can't say no to a bunch of pretty girls, Ash," Dia teased with a grin, causing her partner to laugh and nod in admittance.

"This has got to be the worst idea…ever…but you can count us in," Jaune spoke up for his team reluctantly, but there was no hiding the small smile in his face.

"You try to break some legs for me while you're going out and we're golden!" Nora chirped, causing everyone to laugh at her enthusiasm.

"Maybe, Nora. I think the place where I need to go might allow me to do just that…or bust some balls again. We'll see," Yang grinned sinisterly.

"Alright, now that we're all in agreement, let's get working on how to beat Rita," Weiss spoke up with a clap. "Guys, gather around. I know a lot about her, so we'll come up with a strategy to beat her."

"Start the planning without me. I'll be listening, but I want to try and finish my current project before the fight tomorrow." Baltazar spoke up before turning his attention back to his workshop.

"And what project is that?" Yang asked curiously.

"I'm finishing up some last minute additions to Azula, Azure Bolt's replacement, and I'm hoping to test it on Rita if I can." The lightning ninja announced, getting everyone's attention, "I've been working on it a few enhancements to it, including a new variant of Storm Cutter, and I think I have a good inkling on how to get it done. I have the tools and materials I need here, so it shouldn't take me too long to finish the enhancements."

"You're planning on testing your new sword on your older cousin? Isn't that a little…unethical?" Pyrrha asked politely.

"This is the same cousin that used to test her experiments on me when I was younger. In fact, I think she's one of the only relative that I have that's outside my father's family that intentionally messed with me, although thankfully for much different reasons. I consider this payback, to be honest…" Baltazar stated as he grabbed his inactive flute-sword and began inspecting it with a smirk on his face. "Heck, I might even test Lightning Hymn during the spar tomorrow if I can. I still need to get it battle tested, and while Rita's not a Grimm, she's a good enough substitute for them."

"I fully support that decision," Weiss chirped eagerly before giggling somewhat sinisterly as thoughts of the professor being cut up by a sword began filling her head, causing everyone to sweatdrop at the heiress's behavior.

"…You got some issues, girl," Yang sighed in mild amusement and exasperation before quirking and eyebrow at her fellow Signal graduate, "Uh…Sparky, are you sure you should be tinkering with your flute sword like that? Didn't you say the release mechanisms on that thing are still twitchy?"

"Its fine, Flare. I fixed that bug a while back, so no worries," Baltazar assured with a smile as he gave the inactive weapon a gentle pat with his left hand.

*_SHINK*_

"AAAH!"

"Not again…"

"…What?" Baltazar asked in confusion, wondering why the girls, and Jaune, were screaming like a murder just happened while Weiss was simply shaking her head in exasperation.

"Uh…Chief? I think your flute sword still has a few kinks on it." Dia said dryly, she and Ash not at all bothered by the sight before her.

"Yeah, no kidding," Yang agreed with her arms crossed and an annoyed expression on her face, also not bothered by the sight in front of her and ignoring the quivering form of her sister behind her.

"How do you figure?"

"Baltazar…? How are you not feeling that?" Ren asked nervously.

"Feeling what?" The ninja asked once more, further confusing and scaring his non-team friends.

"Dude…your hand," Ash stated in exasperation while pointing at said limb.

"What about it?" Baltazar questioned as he looked down, and finally noticed the reason why his friends screamed.

Lightning Hymn was activated, in Combat Mode, and currently penetrating through the leader's left palm. And his response for having a sword piercing through his hand?

"Oh, look at that. I've been impaled, hehe." The ninja chuckled calmly with a smile, even going so far as to poke the sword by the still bloody blade with pierced hand as he laughed, before swiftly pulling it out, leaving a thin, but very bloody hole in his hand and causing some of the girls, and Jaune, to faint at the sight.

"Sparky, I've seen you do this stuff for nearly four years now. Will it kill you to actually pay attention when you work?" Yang grumbled while shaking her head in exasperation.

"Be happy you weren't there when he first became oblivious to pain while working. I can't tell you how many times I screamed when I walked in on him with his hand riddled with sharp objects and him not even noticing them until I told him about them…" Weiss muttered with her arms crossed, also exasperated by the ninja before her.

"I'll get the med-kit…" Dia sighed.

-Meanwhile, Beacon Academy Courtyard-

"Ahh…life is good today! I may have gotten lost for most of the day, but I listened in on a private conversation with my boss and his colleague, with said colleague's help, met a nice rabbit girl and gave her a vial of my new experimental Dust as a thanks, and met up with my baby sister and scared her friends! Again, life is good!" Rita sighed in content with her cat Horchata lying beside her as she and Levy relaxed on a nearby bench in the courtyard.

"Hehe…. Life is good. It's nice to see you back in Vale, Rita. It has been a long time since you've been home. Everyone misses you. Especially Papa…" Levy said softly as she pet the sleeping Charcoal, who had accompanied them, on her lap.

"Yeah, Sorry about that," The professor apologized sheepishly with a small smile while giving her little sister a gentle pat on the head. "You know as well as I do how busy I get sometimes. And this past year was very hard because of what happened to my team, but Duke and I pulled through and are stronger now because of it. I'm just happy to be back home now. I missed you and our parents, sisters, and even Otto so much."

"I missed you too, Rita, and I'm so happy to see you back again. And I know for a fact that our family will be more than happy that you're home, especially Momma and Papa," The medic assured with a warm, gentle smile, causing her older sister to smile back and give her a loving hug.

"Thanks, Lala. It's good to hear that from you. And I am so glad that I'm back here in Vale with you and the others. It's been a year since I was able to spend any actual time with you and the rest of the family, so I'm going to stay with you and visit everyone for as long as I can. I'm sure my boss won't mind me doing that." Rita said with a kind smile before it turned more sinister as she let go of her sister, "Not only that, I am _really_ looking forward to tomorrows little fight! It's been a while since I've spared with some kids, and from what I've saw and read about your little group, it'll be fun."

"Uh…Rita?" Levy spoke up somewhat nervously as the professor began rubbing her hands together mischievously, "Are you going to take it easy on them? I know you're strong, but I don't think they can handle you at full strength."

"Of course I won't go all out! I'm not Duke, I know when to take it easy," Rita exclaimed in a mock hurt tone before grinning sinisterly once more, "Doesn't mean I'll make it easy for them, though. If I'm going to trust them with you, then I have to make sure they work hard for it."

"Ok, that's go-"

"And don't think you're not part of it either, my cute little sister!" The elder of the two announced, causing the young one to flinch, "I read the reports of your last semester. While I'm impressed that you hold the record for fastest victory in exam spars, I'm a little disappointed that you still resort to the pressure point trick you added to your Eight Trigrams Palm style of martial arts. That trick won't work on armored opponents, Grimm, or people who are faster or more evasive than you. Not only that, the reports said that the _only_ martial art skill you've exhibit so far is the Eight Trigrams Palm style! No Tai Chi, no Northern Shaolin, no Southern Praying Mantis, nothing! What's the use of knowing Buelo's skills if you're not going to use them to kick ass?! And don't get me started on the lack of the tesla rounds I created for your guns! You have a strong affinity to electricity and it's high time for you to use it!"

"B-But Abuelito said to only use my other martial arts for self-defense and my lightning affinity for emergencies!" Levy stated nervously.

"Yeah, when you were ten and nearly electrocuted Duke when messing with my Enhanced Elemental Dust Charms. Don't think I forgotten about that…" Rita said as she pointed to her choker and bracelets, causing Levy to flinch greatly and lower her head in shame, before the professor continued. "You know, now that I think about it…that was around the time you discovered your semblance. You had your aura active for a while and as soon as you shocked Duke, your healing powers kicked in to try and save him. As soon as that happened, you went to the side of medicine like mom and Uncle Franklin and ended up being the combat medic you are now."

"Bi…Big Sister…I…"

"Save it, Lala. It wasn't entirely your fault that my partner nearly got himself killed by a curious ten year old. If anything, it was mine for not having a safety lock or something integrated into my charms. A young, curious Morado is not something that should be trifled with…" Rita interrupted, gently patting her sister's head in comfort, before continuing, "Besides, you're older and in much better control over your powers than before. All you need is the proper training and you'll be able to get over your minor fear of manipulating lightning to do all sorts of cool and very helpful skills. Trust me."

"…I guess," Levy sighed, still feeling a little upset.

"Oh come on, baby sister, buck up!" The professor grinned while giving the medic a hard pat on the back, causing her to stumble off the bench and for Charcoal to jump off her lap while Horchata leapt on onto its owner's shoulder, "Have more confidence in yourself! You're a skilled huntress-to-be with abilities and talent most people would do give up anything for, a personality that's so friendly that I'd swear even the Grimm would warm up to you, and, above all, a smoking hot body that will leave guys drooling if you go out with only your shirt and shorts."

"Rita, my body isn't all that special. I just eat properly. I mean, sure I eat more than most people, but that's because my semblance gives me a high metabolism as a side effect for my healing prowess. You know that…" Levy stated as she got up, not at all bothered by being sent on the floor by her sister.

"Nonsense! No one can have curves like you by just eating like a truck driver, you little glutton! Even Cousin Clara didn't have a body like you at any point in her life before she had kids, and she was a supermodel _and_ a huntress! Best combo for the perfect body!" Rita exclaimed as she stood up, getting attention from many people passing by, before rushing up behind Levy and began firmly groping her chest, much to the surprise, and pleasure in some cases, of their impromptu audience. "And don't get me started on these puppies! What kind of milk was Mom feeding you for you to have boobs like these! They're on par with that blonde brawler girl I've meet earlier!"

"HAHAHA! Si-Sister! Stop, please, HAHAHA! That-HAHAHA-T-Tickles!" Levy cried out hysterically as her sister continued to squeeze her, admittedly, large assets.

"Not until I find out the secrets of your body, my little sister/test subject!" Rita announced before moving her arms to the younger girl's waist, causing her to shriek in laughter once more, "Hmm…still ticklish on the waist, but the curves are practically perfect! Horchata, make a mental note on that!"

"Meow!" The cat on the elder's shoulder saluted while the cat on the ground simply shook its head in exasperation.

"KYAHAHA! S-SISTER! S-STOP! PLE-HEHEHE-EAS!"

"Not until I find my answers!"

"Mew!"

"Meow ma-mrowl mow…"

As the two sisters continued on with their 'fun', they were not aware that their actions caught the attention of nearly every person in Beacon. Seeing such a sight caused similar trains of thought to appear in the heads of many onlookers.

For the guys staring at Rita groping Levy: '_This is the hottest thing I've ever seen…_'

For the girls analyzing Levy's figure: '_What's her secret for getting such a great body?_'

-The Next Day-

"Well, well…you kids actually showed up. Gotta give you all props for showing guts!" Rita grinned from the center of the coliseum, which she borrowed for the day to do her 'evaluation' on the twelve students before her.

"It was either this and try to win our freedom or give up and leave ourselves to your mercy. After telling the others about you, take a guess what they chose," Weiss said calmly.

"Eh, fair enough…" The Dust Witch shrugged before noticing the bandages wrapped around the hands of a certain ninja and spoke in amused tone. "Impaled yourself with a blade again, cuz?"

"Yup. Twice. But hey… Risk of being a forger, cousin." Baltazar shrugged uncaringly, expertly ignoring the multitude of glares he was getting from his friends.

"I hear ya. I can't even begin to count how many times I blew myself up trying to get my charms perfect," Rita nodded before taking another look at her cousin, "And it looks like you dressed up for the occasion. Gotta admit, it looks good."

"Eh, I had these clothes already and since Cody got himself a new look, I figured I might as well follow suit." The lightning ninja shrugged once more and a certain heiress couldn't help but stare at the ninja beside her.

Gone was the polo shirt and trench coat that had been with him since the beginning of the year. Now the ninja wore a midnight blue long sleeved turtleneck shirt with thin gold bands below both elbows underneath a navy blue tactical vest with his emblem on the back, a thin dark blue coat with short sleeves that ended at his calves with his emblem also on the back of it and a lightning design on the bottom of it and his sword strapped on his left hip. He also wore a pair of matching midnight blue pants that ended at the calf with a pair of solid black shoes and white athletic tape covering the gap between the pants and shoes, a small holster tied to his right leg that was above another small wrap of tape, a weapons pouch on the back of his hip and a black, rectangular case hanging on his right side. In fact, the only things that stayed the same on him were the scar on his face, the active gauntlets, and a glimmer of gold around his neck, which showed that he was still wearing the Schnee necklace that Weiss made him under his vest. All in all, he looked quite a bit more professional than when he first showed up at Beacon, and in one person's case, a lot more handsome.

"Hey Weiss, stop drooling at the sight of your beau and focus," Dia chided teasingly as soon as she noticed the heiress's eyes were practically glued to the shinobi's new look.

"…Huh?" Weiss muttered, not even bothering to move her eyes from the now bemused Baltazar and causing the others to laugh.

"Hahaha! That never gets old!" Yang grinned as she laughed before turning to her newly dressed friend, "Gotta say, though, I didn't expect you to wear your old Shadow gear again. You haven't worn those close since our last year at signal. Although I don't remember you ever having that coat before."

"It's called a haori, and Weiss got it for me while we were on break. And I gotta say, I love wearing this thing when I can. It's nice and light, infused with Dust, long but not restrictive on my legs, and it looks pretty great. I'm a sucker for long coats like this and you know as well as I do that Weiss has very good taste," The ninja explained as he pushed his glasses upward out of habit, while Weiss blushed slightly with a happy expression on her face when he complimented her and the cloak she bought for him.

"Yeah, no kidding," Rita chuckled as she shook her head, amused by the reactions the heiress was showing, before giving the kids a predatory smile, "So, you think you can move all that well with all that gear? That vest you have looks pretty heavy…"

"I don't know. Why don't we test it out?" Baltazar said calmly as he drew his sword from his back, prompting the others to draw their weapons, and glare at the amused mage.

"Oh, looks like the kids are ready to play, eh?" Rita cooed mockingly, causing some tic marks to form on some of her opponent's heads, before raising her hands up and activated her charms.

The bracelets began to glow in a mix of red and orange, and shortly after that, two small glyphs appeared above the mage's palms. Within seconds, two fireballs the size of basketballs appeared floating above her hand, and with a wicked grin, she spoke in a more excited and mildly sadistic tone.

"Alright, my cute future test subjects…it's eleven now and you got until noon to impress me. If you fail to meet my expectations, then prepare for the harshest training of your life. Do any of you want to back down?"

"Not a chance," The twelve teens stated firmly and tightened their grips on their weapons, which brought a small smirk on the professor's tone.

"Very well, then. Let's play…"

-In town-

"Hmm… Looks like Vale is really getting into the spirit of things," Ironwood said as he walked down the streets of Vale.

It was a nice day out the army general/academy headmaster was making his way towards his next destination; the home of his new assistance's uncle. He was informed by said assistant that she was planning on testing some of Ozpin's students to see how proficient they were and Ironwood gave her the ok. He knew that those students were her sister and her little friends, so he was ok with her wanting to ensure that the children were up to her standard.

The man let off a small smirk as he began thinking of his new employee. When he made the offer for her to be his assistant a year ago, he honestly didn't think she'd accept, considering she lost two of her teammates at the time, but was pleasantly surprise when she said yes to the job. Thanks to her help, a lot of his students have become more successful in such a short amount of time. Granted her methods are a bit…extreme…but if it produced results, then he won't argue.

_He_ taught her well.

"Ah. Here we are," The man said as he paused from his walk, standing right in front of the store he was looking for. With a small smile, he entered the store and simply stood at the door, seeing that the person he wished to speak to was currently busy with a customer.

"Ok then, I'll let my father know. I doubt he'll say no to a partnership, though. He's always liked your family and admits to have used your wears every now and then. Granted they were for comparison with our products, but that's a different story. In any case, I'll talk to him and if I get his ok, I'll let you girls know," Bo said kindly to the two young women in front of him, one being a short haired brunette with red, blue and gold huntress clothing and a slightly older long haired bluenette wearing similar clothing, but more blue than red.

"Thanks, Mr. Azul. I hope your father says yes to the proposal. He's been hoping for a collaboration with our companies for a while and you have given us hope that this project might be successful." The blue haired woman said calmly with a bow, causing the younger of the two to follow suit, albeit much more nervously.

"Y-Yeah! Th-Thanks so much!"

"As my boys always say; no worries," Bo smiled. "Eri, Sumi, would you like me to escort you to Beacon? From what I've heard from your father, Sumi has a tendency to get lost in large, industrial places such as Vale. It actually reminds me of some of my nieces and nephews from my wife's family actually, along with my oldest boy. Must've gotten it from their grandfather…"

"Y-You know about that!?" The brunette, Sumi, exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Hahaha. Its fine, sir. We can find Beacon, no problem. I have been here before," The blue haired Eri smiled as she pat the younger girl's head. "Besides, it seems that you have another customer waiting for you…"

"Oh that's just Ironwood. He can wait outside for all I care. Making sure the two children of Green Embers Industry's C.E.O. get to Beacon safely is much more important than talking to that old war hawk." Bo smirked, causing Sumi to squeak in surprise, Eri to quirk an eyebrow, and Ironwood to chuckle quietly.

"I'm not that much of a war hawk, Bo. I know how to relax and have fun on occasion." The general joked as he entered into the repair shop.

"And yet you did not deny the 'old' part. Accepting your rising age there, eh, General?" Bo teased.

"Like you haven't already, you retired old beast…" Ironwood countered before smiling softly, "It's nice to see you, my old friend. I wished you'd accepted my offer as one of my school's instructors or a commanding officer, but I can see you're much happier here."

"Likewise, bud. Likewise," The one eyed former huntsman smiled as he extended his arm out to the army general, who shook it firmly.

"Well, if you two are about to talk, then its best that we leave. Thank you for your time, Mr. Azul. I hope my family hears from yours soon." Eri said politely as she and her sister walked out the door.

"Alright. See you children later, and if you end up meeting my son, my niece and their friends at Beacon, introduce yourselves to them. I'm sure they'll like your company." Bo suggested.

"We'll think about it. Come on, Sumi. Let's look for our teams," The young woman said as she exited the store.

"Right! Thanks for everything!" Sumi said with a smile and a wave before exiting the building herself.

"Heh, looks like the world will be in safe hands with children like them looking after it. The new generation is full of promise…" Bo mused out loud with a small smile.

"Indeed." Ironwood nodded with a smile as well before steeling himself towards the retired huntsman. "Listen, Bo. There's something I need to talk to you about."

"Does this have to do with that talk about Qrow's message, Ozpin's lack of action, and the fact that you brought your men from Atlas all the way here to Vale? I know you two were talking yesterday, so no need to be discrete…" The Faunus stated in a serious, if slightly irritated tone, his single eye glowing sapphire as he stared at the man before him.

"…Why am I not surprised you know about my talk with Oz." Ironwood sighed as he shook his head in exasperation.

"I am an espionage expert, James. Don't underestimate my ability to gather information." The Faunus said calmly.

"Alright then, I'll just cut to the chase." Ironwood nodded before clearing his throat, "Listen, Bo. I know you're a good friend of Oz, but even you have to admit that he is making a mistake by simply doing nothing. I suggest-"

"If you're suggesting that I call up my old team and have them become active just to deal with this situation, then I'm going to have to say no, James." Bo interrupted, surprising the general before him. "I'm already doing my part and its best that the others don't get involved. They know the situation and we all agreed that I'm the only one among us who is most capable to deal with it."

"But what if this becomes something you can't handle, Bo? You may be one of the strongest and fastest huntsmen in our generation, but that was a long time ago. You're not what you're used to be, and may I remind you that the injury from your final mission didn't just effect your left eye…" Ironwood glared, not stating the other forms of damage the man before him had attained in his last mission

"I'm well aware of my condition, James, and let me assure you that I can still fight with the best of them should the situation arrive." Bo assured with his arms crossed and a sapphire glare at the man before him.

"Bo, don't push yourself. You know very well what would happen if you go overboard again. It's a miracle how you're even alive after all you've been though. Don't do something that will leave you more crippled than simply being a quote unquote 'cyclopes'." Ironwood pressed, adding air quotes to the Faunus's condition.

"I have a contingency plan for this place if that happens, James. Don't worry about me." The Faunus said calmly before smirking, "And remember, my Cobalt Shredders aren't the only weapons that I have in possession. If worse comes to worse, then the Twin Storms will make a re-appearance…along with my other blade. It's no Hiraishin, but it's the closest thing I have to it."

"Ah, I forgot you tried to recreate your ancestor's legendary blade…and I've also heard what happened to said legendary sword as well," The general chuckled in mild amusement. "To think, one of the best swords that was used during the war was in the hands of one of your sons for a good decade before being returned to the family that once wielded it. Funny how life works like that…"

"…You've been talking to Ulysses, haven't you?" Bo sighed in annoyance. "Eh, at least the sword's back with the Yasur family. No need for anyone to use that fragile old lightning rod anymore. Did you know that the materials used for that blade made it not only allowed it to attract true lightning much easier than most metals, but made it more prone to breaking than other swords! I swear my boy had to repair the thing hundreds of times when he wielded it! What was my ancestor thinking when-"

"Alright, Bo, I understand. No need to hear the patented Azure Forge Rant. I enough of that from your niece, thank you very much…" Ironwood muttered in exasperation, shaking his head a little, before staring at the Faunus with a conflicted expression. "So…you're fully supporting Ozpin's plan to simply wait around, huh."

"We are not waiting around, James. We're doing our parts to ensure that our home is safe from anything that tries to harm it." Bo said firmly, "Oz is ensuring that no one finds out what's going on so that there won't be any unease in our time of peace, while I try and uncover what these fiends Qrow discovered are up to. I am also going to get some help from a certain someone that you know very well, so things will become much easier once he shows up."

"If you're bringing in who I think you're bringing in, then I fear that the women of Vale are not going to be happy when he appears," Ironwood chuckled.

"He's going to use this opportunity to give himself some inspiration for one of his books, he admit to that much, but he's playing it somewhat seriously this time around. Especially since, apparently, his apprentice is actually going to school at Beacon. He wants to ensure that her plans to become a huntress doesn't derail because of what might happen here." Bo said wryly.

"He has an apprentice? News to me…" The general muttered in surprise.

"Tell me about it. I don't know who she is, either. All I know is that, according to the letter the old perv sent, she's a blonde spitfire of a tomboy who hates dresses and her name with a passion. Can't think of anyone who fits that description, though…" The forger shrugged.

"Neither can I. Then again, Beacon is not my school. Ozpin might know though, you can ask him." Ironwood suggested.

"…I'll think about it," Bo muttered before looking at his friend's eyes and noticed that the man wasn't done. "Anything else you want to talk about?"

"Actually, yes. I want to ask you for a favor, if you don't mind." James asked politely.

"Ok. Shoot."

"Thank you," The general smiled with a nod before continuing, "I'll be brief; you know about the unveiling of my new line of protection bots, along with the large project that both Azure Armory Inc. and The Schnee Dust Co. assisted me in making. I had little luck getting a member of the Schnee family as a representative, and the majority of your family, including your father, are not able to attend the unveiling either, so I was hoping that you take part in the ceremony, if you don't mind."

"Hmm…" Bo hummed, contemplating on whether or not to accept the offer. After a few brief seconds he shrugged and turned to the general, "I don't see why not, but to be honest, it makes the most sense to have Blanca be the representative. Despite the fact that many believe that my youngest boy is the best choice to inherent AAI, my baby sister is, technically, listed as the one who would take over Dad's company if something happens to him."

"I tried that, but she isn't able to come. Something about planning her son's birthday or something," Ironwood sighed.

"Oh. I forgot that it was almost Cobre's birthday. I better mail my present to him when I get the chance…" The Faunus mused out loud before focusing back to Ironwood, "Alright, I'll do it. I'll even try and bring one of my boys to the event. My youngest needs to learn more about these sorts of things, so I'll try and convince Taiyang to let him come over for the day."

"Thank you, Bo. I appreciate that," The general smiled gratefully before turning to the door. "It was nice seeing you again as well. Hopefully your niece will be visiting you soon. She's been really looking forward to spending some time with her family after her grandmother passed away recently."

"It was good to see you too, James. And I look forward to seeing Rita again later. I'm sure she'll come visit once she'd done spending time with her baby sister. Those two have always been close, despite Rita's wandering nature." Bo said with a small smile as he waved the general goodbye. Once he was gone, however, he let off a soft sigh in relief, happy to have the man out of his store for the moment.

"Feh… Still the same as before. He really needs to learn to not get himself involve in matters that don't really concern him. I know he's worried about Qrow's message, but bringing a fleet over is just plain ridiculous." The man scoffed to himself, his lone eye now golden brown again and reflecting the irritation that he was showing towards the now departed general.

With another sigh, this once expressing more exasperation than relief, the retired huntsman turned towards the door behind his counter and opened it, walking into the workshop where he and his sons do the majority of the repair orders for the repair shop. He walked further into the area until he reached a workbench filled with various tools and items, both broken and repaired, with a large monitor hooked up to the wall above it. With a small smirk, the man grabbed a nearby chair, plucked a remote from the workbench, and turned on the monitor. To his amusement, the image on the screen was showing what was currently happing over at Beacon Academy: Teams RWBY, JNPR and BLAD sparing against Rita, and from the looks of it, the three teams were not doing so well if their current states were anything to go bye.

"So glad I had Charcoal record this spar after he informed me about it yesterday. Good chance to see how the kids are developing and what new tricks Rita learned when she was with James for the past year. A shame that I'm not able to hear what they're saying, but the action more than makes up for it." Bo muttered to himself as he reached behind his seat and pulled out a small bag of popcorn from seemingly out of nowhere and began snacking on them while staring at the tired students analytically.

"Now then, kids… What will you do next…?"

-Back at Beacon Academy Arena-

"D-D-D-Dude…sh-sh-she's a m-monster!" Ash stuttered as he shook off the frost from his body.

"What was your first clue…?" Ren muttered in a daze like tone, his hair sticking out a little and a small electrical current running through his body.

"I warned you guys that she was strong," Weiss grumbled as she rubbed her burnt arm.

"Come on, brats, is that all you've got!? My mom puts up more of a fight than you chumps!" Rita taunted with a wide grin and her arms crossed, looking only slightly roughed up, but no signs of cuts or bleeding anywhere.

It was a good forty minutes since the impromptu match began and the professor could honestly say she was both having fun and quite impressed by the kids before her. She wasted no time using her Dust spells against them, her weaker ones and a few of her intermediate spells for good measure, and she was pleased whenever they got up from the assaults. Their attacks and team combinations were good for a bunch of first years and was pleasantly surprised to see that their impressive teamwork did not stayed limited to their respective teams.

'_These kids are pretty damn good. No wonder why Ozpin likes them so much. Maybe I should just pass them right now…_

…_Nah. I'm having too much fun! Now what else should I do to keep this up?_'

"…I don't like the way she's smiling right now," A tired Jaune muttered as soon as he saw Rita laughing sinisterly before him.

"She's most like thinking of other ways to 'play' with us. It wouldn't surprise me…" Baltazar sighed as he tried to get up, using his sword as a walking stick and his Dust reserves nearly depleted.

"She's distracted though, so now's a good time to take advantage of it," Pyrrha spoke up softly, looking the best off out of her friends.

"Alright then, my time to shine!" A slightly damp Yang shouted, releasing a burst of fire around her to dry herself off before sprinting off towards the professor.

"Yang, wait!" The remaining members of RWBY shouted, but it was too late.

"HAAA!"

*_BAM!*_

"Ha! Too slow, blondie!" Rita taunted with a teasing grin, now floating in the air through a pair of glyphs on her feet to evade the devastating punch that cratered the ground.

"Grr…I hate it when she does that!" Yang growled out, her eyes turning red in frustration before bringing her fists back and began firing at the flying huntress.

Seeing the incoming assault, Rita reached behind her back and pulled out her whip before she began waving it before her, allowing the weapon to destroy the fiery projectiles coming at her. Some did manage to get through her defense, but all it did was singe her clothes and hair slightly for being too close, further infuriating the blonde brawler. With a growl, the young student fired at her feet and propelled herself towards the still levitating huntress, flying right above her with her fist back, ready to strike once more.

With a shout, Yang brought her fist down in an attempt to take down the huntress in one blow. What she wasn't expecting, however, was for said huntress to use her whip to redirect the assault by wrapping it around the fiery fist and change its course, causing the both of them to plummet to the earth. While Yang left a large crater on the ground due to her attack, Rita simply landed softly on the ground, much to the blonde's ire. Frustrated, she got up and began to open fire once more, knowing that the huntress won't be able to fly anymore for a while. Rita, on the other hand, simply brought her whip up and held it out in a blocking positon, much to the confusion of the other students. Yang, on the other hand, smirked at the defensive attempt when she saw the attacks hit home, creating a small cloud of smoke where Rita was standing. As the smoke cleared, the blonde's eyes went wide and mouth became agape, utterly shocked by the sight before her.

"Whew! That's some power you got there, blondie. It even damaged me a bit despite the fact that I have my barrier up!" Rita said cheerfully, a large blue orb surrounding her body and her whip giving off a blue glow itself. There were black spots on the barrier, indicating where Yang's attacks hit, and Rita herself looked a little ruffled, but far from being down for the count.

"…What the heck! You even have a freaking barrier too!? That's just cheap right there, and I know cheap tactics! I've been partner with two ninjas, the poster children of cheapness!" Yang shouted angrily.

"…She's not wrong. We're not above using cheap tricks and low blows to obtain victory." Blake admitted with a shrug.

"Low blows are the way to go…" Baltazar said softly with a chuckle while holding a fist up to Blake, who bumped it with her own without even looking at each other.

"See!" The blonde shouted once more to emphasize her point.

"Oh relax, blondie. Didn't I just say you managed to actually hurt me a little? This barrier doesn't completely protect me from harm, it only reduces the damage that I take from projectile attacks. Not only that, you kept me moving and forced me to use Uroboros instead of my charms! That's something that most kids your age wouldn't be able to accomplish! Props to you!" Rita stated as she lowered her whip, causing the barrier to disappear.

"Don't patronize me! You're still holding back and we know it!" Yang yelled with a fist in the air.

"Well, yeah, of course I am. Do you honestly think I'd use my upper level skills on a bunch of newbies like you lot? Seriously, you'd wouldn't last one second if I'd use my Meteor Shower spell or my Diffusion Strike. Heck, I doubt there'd be any of you left if I released my inhibitors on my charms and use my best spells… I remember this one time when I got so pissed at my old friend Slate and-"

"Enough with the rambling, already! We know you're strong, so show us your stuff so we can kick it out of the park!" Yang shouted once more, not at all noticing that the ground below her was glowing slightly.

"Yang, stay calm! Getting angry is what she wants you to do! You need to pay attention!" Levy shouted out.

"I'm at my best when I'm mad! No way I'm saying calm against her!" The brawler shouted, turning her head towards the medic to give her a fierce, red-eyed glare.

"Rule number one when fighting, blondie: never take your eyes off your foe," An amused voice stated from behind Yang, causing her to stiffen in surprise.

"Huh?" The brawler grunted in surprise, and turned her head in horror to see Rita right behind her, crouched down right near her butt with her fingers together in a familiar, and very frightful, position, with sparks emanating from them, no less.

"Crap, I gotta move!" She hissed before attempting to run, but found herself unable to move her legs. "What the…? Why can't I move my legs!?" Frustrated, she looked down, and gasped in horror as she realized what got her stuck.

"What the… Where did these vines come from!?"

"Rule number two: Always be aware of your surroundings!" Rita stated once more, "I initiated my Ivy Bind spell during my rant and you're temper caused you to miss the glow beneath your feet, one of my most obvious indications of my techniques at work. I don't normally use this technique, but I'm willing to have fun with it in this case."

"Shoot! Gotta get free! Gotta get free! Gotta get free!" Yang changed frantically in a hopeless attempt to escape, only to wince as the sharp vines began cutting her legs.

"Uh oh… I can see where this is going…" Blake muttered with a wince.

"We have to help her!" Ruby screamed.

"We can't! The vines are too close to her legs! We can't hit them without the risk of crippling her!" Dia shouted back, her eyes glowing dark green as an indication that her semblance was active.

"So what can we do now?!" Nora asked fearfully.

"Nothing, kids. Pay attention to this next lesson, or else what will happen to her will happen to you all!" Rita cackled before turning back to the now deathly afraid Yang. "Rule number three: _Never_ let your opponent get behind you…"

"Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man!"

"Forjador City's Secret Finger Technique…"

"Ah crap! This is gonna-"

*_Poke!*_

"HIIIIIIIUUUUUURRRRRRRT!"

"A THOUSAND YEARS OF DEATH!"

"Wow… Look at her go…" Nora said in amazement as she and the others watch Yang fly above them, holding her behind in pain, before crashing down into the seats of the arena.

"Oh Lord above… Are we going to suffer the same fate?" Jaune whimpered.

"Not if I can help it," Pyrrha assured before sprinting off herself to face the huntress.

"Hmm… Going against me one on one, this time, eh? Let's see how this turns out," Rita mused before jumping back to avoid a swipe from the regional champ's javelin.

Thinking quickly, the redhead turned her weapon into its rifle form and open fire at the huntress, hoping to damage her with her bullets. What she wasn't expecting, however, was a slab of stone to suddenly rise up from the ground before the huntress just as she landed and protect her from the assault. Growling a little in frustration, Pyrrha sprinted towards the rock and jumped over it, putting her shield up just in time to block an incoming strike from Rita's whip. Lowering her shield, the redhead's eyes went wide for a brief moment before sprinting to the side to avoid a small volley of fireballs aimed at her.

Doing a quick roll, Pyrrha aimed her rifle at Rita again and was prepared to open fire. Rita, on the other hand, simply grabbed the book that was hanging behind her waist and opened it to a seemingly random spot right in front of the student. Much to Pyrrha's surprise, however, a flurry of pages began flying out of the book and headed towards her. Having no other choice, she brought her shield up to block the deceivingly wasteful assault. It turned out to be the right thing to do, since some of the pages had actually embedded themselves into her shield. Lowering her protection and quickly removing the razor sharp paper, Pyrrha faced her opponent once more, and immediately brought her guard up as soon as she saw a gold colored glyph appearing below the older huntress's feet.

Seeing the fierce, yet cautious expression on the young star student's face, Rita let off another amused smirk as the symbol beneath her feet began to glow brighter. Seeing that, the huntress sent her right arm front, the bracelets on both her arms glowing the same color as the glyph, and appeared to visibly push her glyph forward towards her opponent. Seeing it coming, Pyrrha got up to her feet and jumped away from the glyph just as it reached her old spot, but what she wasn't expecting was for it to expand to about twice its size and catching her within its boundaries. Not a moment later, a pillar of energy came out of the glyph, ensnaring the young redhead and actually suspending her in midair, much to her surprise. What was odd about the energy surrounding the amazon was that it felt familiar to her, and after a few seconds of thinking, she realized what it was.

"Is this…magnetism?"

"That's right," Rita grinned. "That is what I like to call my Tractor Beam, which traps a single foe in a magnetic field, suspending them in air and leaving them unable to attack. Even those with the Polarity Semblance are helpless against it. It only lasts for a few seconds and uses up a large chunk of my special Lightning Dust, but it's more than enough to land a few hits with my book!"

With that, the young huntress took out her book again and leafed and held it in front of the red haired champ. Just as she was about to open it, however, it was blasted off her hand. Surprised by the attack, Rita turned to where her book landed, and quirked an eyebrow when she saw her book didn't have any holes in it.

It was drenched, as if it was it by one of her water spells and she knew only one person amongst the group who would use water as an attack

"Good shot, Levy. Now she won't be able use her book again…" A familiar voice reached her ears, and the huntress turned to see the others now beside the kid she was fighting, who was now out of her trap, and quirked an eyebrow when she saw her little sister had her gun pointed at her.

"Wow…to think my little sister's actually pointing her weapon at me. I'm both impressed and surprised." Rita commented with a grin.

"I was the one who asked her to do it. She wouldn't have fired if I hadn't made her. Plus it helps that I told her to use the water bomb rounds I developed for her." Baltazar said calmly, his electric blue eyes staring blankly at his elder cousin.

"Well, well, look at that take charge attitude. To think that the frail looking son of Teach would end up being the leader of his own huntsman team. Good on ya, cuz," Rita complemented with a nod.

"Thanks, Rita. Now, if you don't mind, I got a question to ask you…" The ninja asked curiously as he clutched his sword, sparking the huntress's curiosity.

"Sure, ask away." Rita complied while a golden brown glyph was glowing below her.

"…What do you say about testing my new sword's features?" The ninja asked with a small smirk as he brought his sword before him and gripped it tightly, causing the blade to glow bright blue and sparks of electricity flying off of it, causing his opponent to stare at the weapon in amusement.

"…I say good luck with that, because you are definitely gonna need it," Rita smirked as she snapped her fingers, causing another glyph to form below her opponent's feet and immediately cause a group of stones to suddenly rise up and strike the teen, only for him to vanish in thin air, leaving a broken kunai with various wires sticking out of it behind.

Going wide eyed for a moment, Rita immediately calmed down to think for a brief moment before suddenly ducking, just in time to avoid being decapitated from a glowing sword. Jumping forward, the huntress looked back to see the ninja that avoided her attack standing right where she was, staring at her blankly with the still electrified sword and now in a crouching position. Not sure if he was about to run or jump, she decided to take a chance and launched a few fireballs at his direction, to see what he was going to do. She was rewarded with the sight of him jumping over the fireballs easily, leaping over her with his sword tucked back, as if he was about to trust it downwards. That confused her because, despite not having any personal experience in swordsmanship, she knew enough of it to know that one-handed swords such as katanas were designed to cut and slice, not thrust and pierce like a rapier. She continued to stare at him oddly, taking notice of the sword's increasingly glowing and unstable state. She was expecting him to fire a crescent beam of lightning, something that was typical of him and his fighting style, but his position made her wonder what he was going to do.

She didn't had to wait long, and only had a moment's notice when the lightning ninja thrusted his sword downward, causing the light from the sword to shoot downward in the shape of a blade, effectively turning his sword into a long reaching light saber. The attack was quick and would've been deadly, but the mage was still able to react fast enough to move away from the assault, allowing it to slam into the ground and leave a thin, yet deep, hole in the ground before the energy dissipated, the Dust for the sword having been used up for the attack.

Growling slightly for his failed attack, Baltazar allowed himself to fall to the ground and landed on his feet with ease before rushing at Rita, a hint of electricity sparking from the sword to show that it wasn't completely empty yet. The teen reached into his weapons pouch and tossed a pair of red-tinted kunai at his opponent, who immediately brought out her whip and slapped them away before her. That proved to be a mistake, as only a moment after being batted away, they exploded, creating a cloud of smoke that soon enveloped her, hampering her sight.

Smirking at his success, the lightning ninja tilted his glasses upward once more out of habit and rushed into the smoke, his naturally good eyesight and glasses allowing him to see in it easily. Once in the smoke, he looked around for any sign of his opponent, but frowned when he noticed that she wasn't nearby. He then felt the ground below him rumbling, and looked down quickly to see a golden glyph glowing below him. Not wanting to get caught in another one of her spells, the ninja quickly jumped out of the smoke, just in time to evade another burst of earth coming out of the ground, and landed safely on the ground. His escape from danger was short lived, however, because as soon as he landed, another glyph was formed right below him, this one in a dark green color, and since he was still recovering from the near earth based assault, he was unable to do anything as a few sharp vines suddenly sprouted out of the ground and wrapped around his legs, hindering his movement.

Growling a little at both his annoyance at getting caught and the pain that the vines were giving him, he gripped his sword with both hands and began trying to slice through his binds. Much to his disappointment, however, the sword was barely able to cut through the vines, and he didn't have enough Dust left in his blade to properly cut through the vegetation.

"Good luck getting out of those things, cuz. They're highly cut resistant, meaning it's going to take more than just your musical sword to get free," Rita taunted as she appeared from behind the rock formation she made moments ago, her hand stretched before her and a large ice-blue glyph in front of it.

Cursing at himself for falling into a trap and at the incoming attack, Baltazar reached for his weapons pouch behind him and pulled out a folded Fuma Shuriken. Opening the giant star-shaped projectile, the ninja grunted slightly and activated the Dust in the shuriken, causing it to glow blue and emit electric sparks. With a fierce glare, the ninja tossed his weapon at the still huntress, hoping to at least stun her even if it missed. Sadly, the huntress didn't want to deal with a flying star knife, and brought out her whip once more and deflected the large projectile towards the wall, where it exploded in a burst of electricity.

Letting off a frustrated sigh, he brought out an orange tinted kunai and slammed it into the ground, much to his opponent's surprise. A moment later the knife exploded in a burst of fire, surprising the huntress as she saw her vines being burnt off from her cousin's legs…and that his legs were also being fried. As soon as the vines were gone, the ninja sprinted off once more, but stumbled with a wince as he felt the burns aching his legs.

"Ok…that was both really brave and really stupid of you, you know that? I know you're quite tough, despite what your relatives in Teach's family say, but frying your legs was not the best thing to do. With your movements limited, how do you hope to reach me?" Rita asked with a mildly unamused tone.

"…Who said I wanted to reach you?" Baltazar muttered with a small smirk as he casted his eyes to where Pyrrha was resting.

Rita followed his gaze, and her eyes went wide when she noticed that the only one that was with the redhead was Yang. Cursing to herself, she closed her eyes briefly to try and detect where the others were located. With a soft grunt of annoyance, she turned around and activated the glyph in her palm, firing a barrage of icicles at the now revealed Ruby, Weiss and Blake, who were about to reach her. The trio evaded the attack though their speed, glyphs and shadows respectively, and ended up scattering after being found out. The huntress let off a small sigh before jumping high into the air, just in time to evade Jaune trying to bash into him with his shield before pelting him in the back with a fireball. Chuckling at the attempt, she landed gracefully on the ground and ducked quickly to avoid Ren's swipes with his bladed guns. Fire formed in her hands once more, and Rita grinned wide when she held one palm at Ren's torso and another palm behind her, where Nora was seen in the air and ready to smash the huntress into the ground. Sadly, it was not to be, as Rita unleashed her flames at the pair. Ren quickly moved away from the attack, and was only slightly singed for being too close. Nora, on the other hand, ended up being struck with multiple flames and ended up flying off to where Ruby was standing and crashed into her.

Satisfied, Rita began dusting herself off lightly and immediately brought her whip up just in time to deflect an arrow aimed at her. With an amused smile, she turned to Dia, who glared back at her with her fierce dark green eyes. Chuckling in amusement, the huntress created another glyph below her feet, but was forced to deactivate it when she saw both Levy and Ash rushing at her. Grabbing her whip once more, Rita quickly launched it at her opponents. The pair jumped away from each other to avoid getting hit, but both were surprised to see the weapon wrap around Levy's waist, and neither were prepared when Rita, with a surprising show if strength, lifted her sister off the ground and right into Ash, causing the both of them to stumble and land right near Dia's feet, who was surprised that the huntress was willing to use her own sister as a weapon.

"Well, kids, I have to say, this was fun. You guys are pretty good for a bunch of first years. Not even the kids back at Ironwood's school have more talent than you lot have. Congrats, kids, you've impressed me." Rita grinned before reaching into one of her breast pockets and took out what looked like a small canister of pills, much to her opponents' confusion. "However, just because you've impressed me, doesn't mean that the fun's over. I still have one trick I want to use on you all, and I think it's high time to pull it off…"

With that, the huntress opened the canister and popped a pill into her mouth, further confusing the students, before tucking her hands together to her right side and formed a small, aqua blue glyph below her feet. As soon as the glyph formed, all the students began to feel something off about the air around them.

"Hey…doesn't the air feel a little…I dunno…cool?" Nora asked curiously.

"It does… It kind of feels like we're close to the ocean. Like the docks…" Ruby mused with a curious tilt to her head.

"Ocean…?" Baltazar repeated quietly before turning to Rita and paled drastically. "Oh boy…this won't end well…"

"What's going on, Chief?" Dia asked worriedly.

"Nothing much, kids! Just your typical early afternoon tidal wave coming at ya!" Rita announced before spreading her arms apart, her bracelets and choker glowing blue, causing the glyph below her to expand and encompass not only her, but the entirety of the battleground. Then, a watery hell broke loose.

Without warning, a massive wave of water suddenly appeared, catching all the students within its grasp and began spinning around like a large whirlpool. The students were helpless to counter it, and none were able to find a way to stop the rampaging water. Rita was the only one who wasn't affected by the tide, but a light green hue did grace her features. She was also noticeably paler than earlier, something that the students would've notice and taken advantage of if it wasn't for their predicament.

"Crap…still can't get over this damn sickness." Rita grumbled irritably, a hand over her stomach as she tried hard not to vomit. "I guess the pills aren't as strong as they used to be. Either that or I'm building a tolerance towards them. It's a good thing this spell only lasts for a few seconds, otherwise I'd be sick for a week."

As soon as that sentence escaped her mouth, the water began to slow down and dissipate into the ground. A few seconds later, the water vanished, leaving a drenched arena and a group of dizzy and very wet group of students wondering what just happened.

"…Did we just went through a spin cycle in a washing machine?" Yang asked in a daze tone, her eyes spinning and stars and studs in speedos running around her head.

"LeT's Go AgAiN! LeT's Go AgAiN!" Nora cheered deliriously, spinning on her toes with a finger in the air before collapsing onto the ground.

"Ugh… I don't feel so good…" Baltazar mumbled, his feet not hurting him anymore, but now sported a very sickly expression, as if he was about to throw up any minute.

"Rita…?" Weiss spoke up with a groan as she attempted to stand up despite her dizzy state. "Please tell me that we're done. I don't think any of us can take this abuse anymore…"

"Yeah… I probably should've thought this through instead of using up the rest of my Water Dust for that spell…" Rita muttered in a mildly apologetic tone. "Sorry, guys. I think I went a little overboard here. How about we call it a day eh? Like I said, you've impressed me quite a bit. Keep up the good work and you won't have any trouble dealing with anything that comes your way…"

With a pause, the young huntress turned her attention to team RWBY and let out a soft smirk, "Including people like Roman and the White Fang."

"…You know?" Blake groaned tiredly while everyone else looked at the elder woman in surprise.

"I was trained under a master of intel gathering. You kids have a lot to learn to pull any wool over my eyes." Rita chuckled, looking much better now than earlier. "Just so you know, I won't tell anyone. I'm actually quite pleased with your initiative. If you kids need any help, let me know. If not, then I wish you girls luck in your adventure. Something tells me you're gonna need it."

The three teams looked at the huntress with various expressions. None of them were expecting her to be aware of team RWBY's plan, nor were they expecting her to be so supportive of them either. Confusion was prevalent in their minds, but despite that, they were happy that they were going to be dealing with less interference when it was time to execute the plan…as soon as they actually form one of course.

"Rita…? What are you talking about?" Levy asked tiredly, the only one among the group that didn't know about the plan, much to the guilt of her friends.

"It's nothing, Lala. You'll find out later…" Rita assured while patting her wet sister's head. "So…now that that little bout of fun is over, how about we head to the cafeteria for some food. I hear that they're serving some awesome Mistralian seafood right now and I've been dying to-"

"_BLEH!_"

"Oh… Right… I forgot he can't handle water that well either… Or seafood…" The huntress muttered uncomfortably as soon as she saw her vomiting cousin.

"Oh…my stomach…"

"He's not the only one…" Ren muttered as his own leader began looking queasy from the whirlpool assault while Pyrrha began rubbing his back gently to comfort him.

"I'm surprised that you yourself are willing to perform such a technique despite knowing that it'll affect you badly as well," Pyrrha spoke up tiredly from her position as she continued to try and soothe her beau.

"It's a bit of an ace of mine. Most people know I get seasick easy, so they're not prepared whenever I bring out my Tidal Wave spell, but it does leave me really woozy after I do it, even with the medicine I take…" Rita explained.

"Speaking of woozy, dudes, looks like someone's going to take Balto and Jaunester to the infirmary again. Levy's semblance doesn't work on illnesses, so she won't be able to help. That, and toasting his legs is definitely something that should be looked on." Ash suggested, unaware of Levy's uncomfortable expression when told that she couldn't do anything against illnesses.

"I'll be fine. Just…give me a few minutes to recover," Jaune muttered while giving Pyrrha an appreciative glance before turning to Baltazar, who was on the verge of passing out with Weiss hovering over him in worry. "Although… I don't think I can say the same for Baltazar. We know he has a bad case of seasick, but I didn't think he'd be effected this badly."

"I'll take him. It's my turn to haul his butt to the nurse's office anyway," Yang offered as she walked up to the sickly ninja and hoisted him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes, his upper body slumped over the blonde's body and his head lightly touching her chest, much to the ire of a certain heiress.

"Yang…? What do you mean it's your turn to take him to the infirmary?" Weiss asked in barely contained jealousy.

"Simple; I took him first when he got sick making three weapons at once in the course of a weekend, you took him after he was shot and blown up by Pyrrha and Nora for delivering their orders, so now it's my turn." Yang explained as she gently patted the groaning ninja's head, ignoring the amazon's and grenadier's sheepish expressions s they recalled that certain incident. "Besides I've dealt with his seasickness before, so I know what to do when he's like this. No need to be jealous, Weiss. I'll take good care of him."

"…Fine. I trust you. Just make sure he gets better soon, ok. We have a lot of plans to make and we have no time to waste." Weiss relented with a sigh.

"Not to worry, Nievita. He'll be fine," Yang assured with a grin before turning to her semi-unconscious friend with a dark tone, "But if you puke on my hair again like when we first met, I will finish what you started and fry the rest of your legs and your body, got it?"

"G-Got it…geh…" The ninja groaned.

"Good!" The blonde chirped before turning to the others. "Welp, I'm off to take this guy to get checked up. Catch you all later!"

With that, Yang sauntered off towards the exit and out of the arena, waving goodbye to all her friends. Seeing the sight caused Rita to chuckle slightly, catching everyone's attention.

"Well…sucks that he had to take him. I was hoping he could give me the details on that new sword of his. I know he returned his old sword to their original owners, and I wanted to see what kind of features he added on to the replacement." The huntress said with a small smile.

"You can always ask him when he recovers. He made a number of new upgrades to Azula, and he was hoping to find some time to test them. I guess you were the perfect choice for him at the time…" Dia spoke up, causing Rita to quirk an eyebrow at the information

'_Aluza, eh? Heh, to name it after the lone member of Teach's family that he could remotely relate to… Should've known he'd look her up. Not every day you learn something interesting about your family, especially if it's something that other family members rather not remember._'

"Ah…I see. Payback for having him being my test subject for most of my experiments. Heh, that explains a lot…" Rita chuckled, keeping her thoughts to herself, before turning to the exit. "Alright, kids, let's go! There's a ton of free food with my name on it and I will not wait any longer!"

With that, the huntress dashed out of the arena and towards the cafeteria, leaving a group of stunned and confused students behind.

"…Levy, your family is weird…" Jaune muttered while shaking his head.

"Makes me wonder what the rest of her family looks and acts like…" Ren joked dryly.

"You want to know what my family looks like?" Levy repeated curiously. "Why didn't you say so? I have a picture with me that Abuelita gave me that had all of her and Abuelito's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren at the time. It's my favorite picture of everyone."

After saying that, Levy reached into her weapons pouch and pulled out a surprisingly dry picture to show her friends. Everyone, except for Ruby and Weiss, huddled around the medic to see the image, and gape at what they saw.

"Holy crap, are all of these people directly related to you!?" Ash cried out in shock.

"There's gotta be, like, five dozen people here!" Nora exclaimed.

"There's quite a few people holding pictures as well. They must be relatives that have passed on…" Blake muttered as soon as she saw the photos within the photo.

"Uh huh. Abuelita and Abuelito had a total of fifteen kids, three boys and twelve girls, throughout their marriage, and almost all of them had kids, with the older ones eventually having kids of their own. My Papi is the youngest of the guys, but still a good few years older than Baltazar's mom, _Tía_ Leti, who's the youngest of the kids. If I remember right, this was taken not long after Cereza was born, making her the youngest of us cousins of the Morado family…" Levy explained fondly as she gently held the picture with a bit of melancholy in her eyes.

"Hey, this doesn't look like it was taken at Vale. The area looks too dry." Dia pointed out.

"That's right. We had this photo taken at Vacuo. It's where the Morado family originated from. I'm technically half Vacuan myself because of that." The medic confirmed.

"You're of Vacuan descent? Huh… I never would've guessed." Pyrrha mused.

As the small group of eight continued to talk, Weiss simply decided to walk over to Ruby, who had hardly moved from her spot since the tidal assault, and decided to talk to her.

"Hey Ruby, how come you're not interested in seeing Levy's family portrait?" The heiress asked.

"I've seen it already. Cody showed me his copy last year, and it really surprised me." Ruby admitted with a giggle.

"Try being there when the photo was actually taken. You can't imagine how surprised I was to see so many different people that were directly related to my best friends. It was quite the shock." Weiss laughed back.

"You went to Vacuo in the past?" Ruby asked, unaware of such a fact despite having seen the photo many times.

"I had to. I was still under Uncle Bo's watch at the time and Father was too busy to take me back…" Weiss explained, her voice growing softer at the mention of her father.

"Hmm…I see…" Ruby nodded, taking note of her partner's mood and decided to change the subject. "So…Are you happy that we won't have to worry about Rita stopping us from finding out the White Fang's plans?"

"It'll make things easier, yes. First though, we have to come up with a plan. Think you can handle that?" Weiss stated with a smirk, causing Ruby to smirk back.

"Of course! You can count on me! I am a master planner!" The young leader grinned before adopting a curious expression. "By the way…how do you think Rita figure out that we're planning to figure out what the White Fang are up to? None of us said anything to anyone last night…"

"Hmm… I'm not sure. Despite her more straightforward approach on things, she does know a lot about intelligence gathering…" The heiress guessed.

"Maybe Charcoal told her. He did disappear with her when you grabbed Baltazar last night. He must've told her since he was with us when we were making our decision to scope out the White Fang…" Ruby pointed out.

"It wouldn't surprise me, to be honest. Charcoal and Horchata are brothers, so I doubt they'll keep secrets from each other." Weiss nodded before shrugging a little, "In any case, it's nothing to worry about now. Even with her knowing, she won't interfere. I may say a lot of negative things about her, but she's a loyal huntress who is true to her word. If she won't say anything, then we'll be fine."

"Awesome! I can't believe we have an actual huntress on our side who'll cover for us! Now no one can stop us when we execute our plan!" Ruby admitted.

"That's right. Now, how about you gather the others and we head to the cafeteria. Mistralian seafood is said to be quite divine," Weiss smiled.

"Yes, ma'am!" Ruby giggled, causing Weiss to laugh a little herself, before the young leader skipped to the others.

As she left, the young heiress let off a small frown and a quiet sigh. With a conflicted expression, she turned her gaze at the exit, where Yang and Baltazar left. Shaking her head, she went to her friends to join them for lunch, a final thought crossing her mind as she walked towards them.

'_I hope Baltazar ok… Yang better take care of him. Water skills such as the one Rita used makes really him sick._

…_I also hope he doesn't puke on her either. I doubt he'd survive her fury if that happens._'

-With Yang and Baltazar-

"So…when are you going to tell me you told your older cousin about our plans with the White Fang?" Yang ask casually to the seemingly unconscious ninja on her shoulder, expertly ignoring the odd stares they were getting from their classmates.

"…Heh, what makes you say that?" Baltazar muttered tiredly, a slightly amused smile on his face.

"It makes sense. Other than Levy, you were the only one who would've been able to contact her. I know how protective you are towards your loved ones, despite what you said last night, so I figured you might've told her just in case something goes wrong during our little excursion. Wouldn't be the first time you did this." The blonde said with a smirk.

"Well… Sorry to say this, Detective Flare, but you got it wrong. I was contacted by her last night, but I wasn't telling her about the plan. I was telling her to not tell anyone else about it." The Faunus chuckled, making his carrier quirk an eyebrow. "Charcoal was the one who told her through Horchata, and in turn messaged me for details and confirmation. I didn't tell her anything she didn't already know, but I did make a deal with her to ensure that she won't say anything…"

"That's right… The little guy was with us when we started talking about this. Even when he left, he made sure to listen in on what we were saying, just like he was taught…" Yang summarized as she paused her strides to set her friend down, who still had trouble standing and ended up leaning on her for support.

"That's right. Thankfully, though, he only told Horchata and Rita. He won't say anything to Pop so long as he gets in on the action. You know he's a bit of a thrill seeker," Baltazar mumbled in amusement.

"Hahaha! No argument there!" Yang grinned. "So…what was the deal you made with your scary older cousin to keep her mouth shut?"

"Oddly enough, she wanted Gentle Storms, my battle gauntlets," The sickly ninja said while gesturing to his water-logged weapons, much to his friend's surprise, "She allowed me to use them for today, but as soon as I get them fixed up, they're all hers."

"…You gave up your weapons to make sure we don't have any trouble with our plans?" The brawler whispered in shock.

"Eh, I've been focusing on my swordplay more often than not lately and I've been working on a backup pair of gloves just in case something like this happens. They're not done yet and won't be as advanced as Gentle Storms when they're finished, but they'll be a good substitute after everything's all set and done…" Baltazar shrugged, not seeing anything wrong with his decision.

"…You are too self-sacrificial sometimes, you know that?" Yang chuckled, tightening her hold on her friend for an impromptu hug. "Thanks for the help, Sparky. I mean it."

"No worries, Flare. Just doing my best to ensure the safety of my friends. Just promise me you'll protect everyone to the best of your abili-_hurk!_" Baltazar smiled with a thumbs up before rushing his hand to his mouth.

"Oh boy, sounds like we need to get yo9u to the nurse's office stat," Yang muttered, grimacing at the sight of her sick friend.

"Hold up… I have to tell you something…" Baltazar spoke up softly, his voice slightly strained, "You have to stop at my dad's shop after you drop me off. It's important…"

"Huh? Why would I do that?" Yang asked.

"Your order came…"

"What?"

"Remember those custom parts and special ammunition that you ordered after that little fiasco at my family's company?" Baltazar questioned, getting a confused nod in response. "Well, they're finished. It took a while to find and make everything, but it's done. As soon as you make those modifications to Ember Celica, you'll be able to pull off Sunrise Strike more often with less strain to yourself and less drain to your aura."

"Really!? You serious?!" Yang asked excitedly.

"Yup. And just in time, too. If you get your gauntlets all fixed up before you face the White Fang, you'll have no problem dealing with them. You just need to stop by Relámpagos Repairs later to get them and-WHOA!"

"KYAHAHA! Why didn't you say so sooner, Sparky!? Now I can murder Grimm with more power and destruction than normal!" Yang laughed cheerfully, now carrying her friend like a sack of potatoes once more, and began sprinting towards the docking bays. "Alright! Onward to the depths of the Lightning Beast's Workshop! My wish to punch my foes to the moon to protect my baby sister will not be denied!"

"Wh-Wh-What about th-th- the nurse's office!" Baltazar cried out, now getting even woozier due to being carried by the energetic blonde at high speeds.

"Forget your health! My girls need some attention! Besides, all you have is slightly charred feet and an upset stomach from the rinse cycle! It'll pass!" Yang chirped, causing Baltazar to stare at her in with a deadpan expression, a familiar green hue on his face.

"If I puke or pass out on the plane, I'm blaming you."

"Ah, you're just jealous that I'm the one who's getting the _sick_ new upgrade this time!"

"…I hate you so much, Flare."

"Love ya too, Sparky!"

Author's note:

Revision number 3, everyone! Like I said, this chapter held the most notable changes, and hopefully, those changes will be acceptable to you guys. Honestly, not much to say here other than to say that next chapter will be the last of the revised chapters for Scattered Symphony and the new revamped chapters from Second Verse will be implemented. Those chapters will be quite different from their original versions, so I hope you guys will like them. As always, readers, thank you all so much for reading this revision and I'll see you guys over at Chapter 4!


	4. Through the Eyes of the Lotus

Hey guys. Black Fuego here with the final revision to Scattered Symphony, my Monty Oum tribute chapter. This chapter doesn't have as many revisions in it compared to the previous one, as I stated in previous chapters, but enough to make it fit. It should be noted that, due to the revision of _this_ chapter, Chapter 16 of The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR has been deleted. Doesn't make much sense to have two similar chapters after all, so this one will be the main one while the other one will be scrapped. Hopefully you guys have liked the revisions that I've made so far and I hope you like this one as well. As always, guys, enjoy the chapter and I will see you at the author's notes.

Disclaimer: I don't own the RWBY series nor any other franchise that may be referenced in this story. I do wish to own more RWBY merchandise though, but I still need to save up a little more so that I can buy them without feeling like I might go broke very soon. I want that the RWBY soccer scarf…

The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR: Scattered Symphony.

Chapter 4/Special Tribute: Through the Eyes of the Lotus (Revised)

Sleep… It's such a wonderful thing. It keeps us energize, sends us to various worlds through the process of dreams. It was even possible to be reunited with loved ones that had long since passed, according to Ruby. I'm inclined to believe her, though. Imaginative as she is, she isn't one to make up something as important to her as reuniting with someone precious to you. As I said, sleep is a wonderful thing.

However, as the old saying goes, you can have too much of a good thing. Sleeping for too long will inevitably make you tired for a long time. Sleeping on the job will also get you in serious trouble as well, especially if you're in the same line of work I'm planning on entering. And don't get me started on nightmares. Many of them are quite scary, but some of them can be quite strange. For example, I had a strange and terrifying nightmare that ended in me being buried in a mountain of pancakes and nearly drowned in a sea of syrup. Easily the oddest nightmare I had. And don't get me started on the one with the haunted animatronics. There was also the one with the mutant carrots and weird turtle things that were throwing spiked balls at us while riding clouds of all things.

And for some reason, Jaune was dressed as a plumber, Nora was some sort of cloud being, I was a puppet in a blue cape and Pyrrha was a princess in pink.

…

Note to self: Stop eating Jaune's special Supreme Arc Pizza before bed.

In any case, sleep is good, but it does have its downsides, just like all things in our world. That is why we have to do such pleasurable things in moderation, even if we don't want to. I myself would simply love to laze around and sleep for a whole day, but I cannot. I have classes to attend, tests to take, food to eat, and friends to socialize. Usually, though, it takes me a while for me to get up, especially if I just came out of a very grueling spar like the one my friends and I end up participating in a while back.

Thankfully though, I have what I believe to be, in my humble opinion, one of the best alarm clocks in the world.

"~OH REEEEEN!~ RISE AND SHINE, SLEEPY HEAD!"

And also the loudest. But I'm used to her loudness already. We've been together for a long time now, and it was only recently that we became 'together' together, in her words. A lot of her antics that would normally infuriate most people I find endearing to be honest.

Her being my personal alarm clock, though… While I appreciate the effort, I'd prefer if she was a bit quieter when waking me up. What if our teammates were still asleep?

"Is he going to wake up soon? Breakfast is going to end in a half hour."

"Don't worry, Jaune. I'm sure he'll wake up any second now."

…Well there goes that possibility. Might as well wake up and get the day rolling.

"Hmmm… Morning everyone," I mumbled as I got up from bed, feeling better than I have been these past few days. I've been feeling off lately for some reason, but now I'm much better, especially compared to a couple days ago…

"Morning Ren!" Nora chirped, sitting on my bed and proceeded to give me a peck on the cheek, which I happily returned.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of the woken, Ren," Pyrrha said in a mildly teasing tone, a kind smile on her face. I always did liked her friendly and helpful attitude towards others. Makes her more than what the news and magazines recalling her exploits cover. Also have to give her points for alliteration.

"We thought you were going to sleep through breakfast again." Jaune joked with a grin, and I couldn't help but chuckle at his point. I did indeed slept through breakfast a few times since the year started, but I've gotten better somewhat.

"Well, I can't let that happen all the time. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day…" I stated as I got up to fix my bed. As soon as I finished, Nora came to me with my school uniform and handed it to me. Smiling gratefully to her, I began putting them on while I turned to my leader curiously.

"Are the others awake yet?" I asked.

"They are. Ruby used her whistle again and I saw Ash get slammed out of the room again for waking his team up with an air horn," Jaune explained, causing Pyrrha to giggle in what I can accurately assume to be her recalling said incident.

"Really? You'd think they'd learn by now," I muttered in an amused tone as I fixed my tie.

It was true. Those two used those tools to wake their teammates up often and it rarely ends well for them, especially Ash. Despite that, the crimson duo continued with their waking tactics to this day, and even had to replace their tools every now and again.

It's times like this where I'm glad Nora doesn't resort to such tactics.

"Well then, since the others are surely awake, it is best we left. If I recall, today's Pancake Day…"

"PANCAKES!"

Jaune, Pyrrha and I couldn't help but laugh at Nora's love for her favorite breakfast meal. I can understand why she likes them so much, and I do enjoy making them as well. Whoever coined in the idea of Pancake Day has my thanks for making Nora's day.

…And save me money on pancake mix and syrup.

After our quick laugh we left our room, and were introduced to the sight of Ash sprawled next to our door with a dazed expression and a small blood trail on the wall that most likely came from his head.

This is probably the third time this month we've seen him like this. He never learns.

"Hey, Ash. Who was it this time?" Jaune asked, and I couldn't help but smirk at the amused tone in his voice.

"Dee…" I heard the infuriating redhead groan before dropping his head, signifying his unconsciousness. It made sense. His partner always did have a short temper, and having been woken up by the sound of an air horn would've definitely peeved her enough to chuck him out the door.

"At least it wasn't Balty this time. He would've electrified you before shoving you head first through the door… Like last time!" Nora exclaimed.

I remember that incident. We just came back from our group trip and the guys and I, along with Ruby and Levy, did not have the best of nights due to certain circumstances that I'd prefer not to divulge. Ash was still pretty wired despite the less than ideal night and wound up keeping his team up, which resulted in him getting shocked and slammed literally into the door by his really irritated leader, knocked him unconscious, and left him hanging there for the rest of the night.

I wished he stayed stuck though. He'd make a good coat hanger.

"*_Yawn*_ Morning, guys…" A tired voice greeted from behind us and we turned around to see a group of somewhat drowsy girls coming out of their rooms, all of them looking a little frazzled and one in particular looking quite sheepish.

"Good Morning Team RWBY!" Nora greeted back, which caused Blake to flinch.

"Nora…not so loud please. Ruby's wakeup call is still making my ears ring a little…" Our feline friend grumbled, to which I nodded in sympathy. Faunus generally have sensitive hearing, and Blake in particular has it even better because of her cat ears. That does, however, leave her more prone to being surprised by loud noises when she is unaware.

"I said I was sorry," The young leader apologized.

"Sorry doesn't fix what you did to us, Ruby. I told you to not wake us up with that infernal whistle of yours anymore, and now you'll have to deal with the consequences." Weiss stated in an irritated tone.

"No! Please! I'll do anything, but don't take my baby away from me!" Ruby pleaded to no avail.

"Sorry, Sis, but I'm with them on this. We had a long night working on our plan and you were the one who ended up sleeping in the middle of it. This is what you get for missing out in one of your ideas and for getting us up way too early." Yang sighed tiredly.

"But Yang!"

"Sorry, Sis, but this is your punishment. No Crescent Rose for you outside of combat practice for the rest of the day…"

"NOOOOOO!"

"WILL YOU STOP F***ING SHOUTING!? I ALREADY SLAMED ONE LOUDMOUTH TO A WALL AND I WON'T HESITATE TO DO IT AGAIN!" A very angry voice shouted from behind the door to team BLAD's room, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Ruby immediately hide behind her sister, quivering like a leaf.

"Sorry about Dia. She's been studying all night for Professor Peach's exam today and the subject's got her frustrated for some reason. Ash's air horn didn't really help her mood many…" A calm voice stated, and I chuckled silently when I saw almost everyone else jump slightly at the voice. As one of the few who didn't get startled, I turned to the source of the voice and greeted him and his companion.

"Morning Baltazar. Levy."

"Yo, Ren. What's up?" "Hello Ren. How are you this fine morning?" The cousins greeted back, both of them being equally polite despite the difference in formality, which caused me to chuckle outwardly this time. Despite the multitude of differences between them, the most glaring one being their different races, they share a lot of similarities, especially when it comes to being polite and helpful to others.

I would say that it would be in their Morado bloodline…if it wasn't for the fact that we've met Levy's oldest sister Rosarita. Polite is not a word that I'd use to describe that person. That, and Baltazar's not _truly _related to Levy from what I understand, which makes sense to me. A Human and a Faunus being related by blood is not unheard of, but there are various consequences for such a thing to occur.

Our time is not ready for such a union yet, but hopefully that will be different in the future.

"Baltazar! Where did you come from?!" Jaune cried out while pointing at the door to the lightning ninja's room, which was still shut tight.

"Blame my parents, Jaune." Baltazar muttered in an amused tone, causing most of us to chuckle or giggle slightly, before he continued. "Levy and I were actually awake for about three hours before Ash woke up and decided to wake Dia up with his air horn. As you can see…didn't work out too well."

"Three hours? It's barely past eight! You guys have been up since five in the morning?!" Ruby exclaimed in surprise, and I honestly can't blame her. There's no way I'd be able to wake up that early myself without incentive.

"We're early risers." Levy stated with a shrug.

*_SLAM!*_

"Where is he!?" A very angry voice growled out, and I couldn't help but flinch a little of the sleep deprived archer that stomped out of her team's room who looked ready to kill anyone who rubbed her the wrong way.

"Here you go." Baltazar said while dragging his powerhouse of a teammate by the foot, ignoring Levy's disapproving stare quite well from what I see, and handed the appendage to Dia, who swiped it out of his hand angrily. "I'd recommend you don't hurt him too much though. Levy just cleaned the room and blood stains are so difficult to remove from the carpet. "

"No promises… I'll meet you guys at the cafeteria after I'm done with this idiot." Dia grumbled before tossing her teammate into the room and stomped back into it, slamming the door in the process.

"Electric kunai are in the desk next to my experimental smokescreen shuriken!" Baltazar called out, and I couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow at the remark.

"Thanks, Chief!"

"Uh…how about we head out? I don't want to hear what Dia might do to her partner…" Pyrrha requested in exasperation.

"Don't want to support your old school friend?" Weiss questioned.

"He's gotten in worse situations before when he was knocked out. He'll be fine." Pyrrha shrugged.

"I don't mind hearing that fiend get tortured," Blake admitted nonchalantly. I guess she still doesn't like Ash all that much, even with their better understanding.

I don't blame her though. I'm still a little irritated at him for getting me sick on turkey, pushing me off a cliff while I was stuffed into a giant cradle, and getting me paralyzed from the waist down. Sadly, breakfast ends soon, and I'd rather not deny my stomach any more than I already did. I clapped my hands to get everyone's attention and made the obvious statement/question.

"Well then… Who wants pancakes?"

-Cafeteria, a few minutes later-

"C'moooon! Can I please have Crescent Rose back!?"

"No! It's punishment for waking us up with your whistle!"

"But its maintenance day! I have to get her checked up!"

"I don't care! Your weapon will be sent to Uncle Bo's repair shop in town if you're that desperate to get it fixed!"

"I need my sweetheart, woman!"

I shook my head at the argument between Ruby and Weiss. The two are arguing just like siblings, and it was something that always amused me. It was nice to see their friendship grow from the little mess of squabbles in the beginning. Jaune even said that that their first meeting ended up with the pair getting caught in an explosion, something that both my leader and I, along with Pyrrha, had the _pleasure_ of experiencing the week before their midterm exams last semester.

I began chuckling a little myself as I took a sip of coffee, my plate having been long empty after finishing my breakfast, and I began thinking about my plethora of friends and all the things that happened to us since the school year started. Being friends with Team RWBY was never boring, due to all the things that happen whenever they're around. Quite the trouble magnets, they are. Ruby herself has changed a bit from how she was in the beginning, becoming more responsible and take charge, but she was still the lovable and energetic girl we know and care about. Weiss has become much more open and accepting as well, something that she usually reserved to her best friends and team in the beginning. A nice change from the somewhat cold and easily embarrassed girl that asked me where her 'best friend' was back at the end of our team placement ceremony.

That, and she made me a boat load of lien for that bet I made between her and Baltazar. I'll be forever grateful to her because of that.

Blake is still the mysterious one of the group, but thankfully she's comfortable with us to let us in in some of her secrets, such as her Faunus heritage and her previous affiliation with the White Fang. In all honesty, Yang is the only one who hasn't really changed all that much since the beginning of our three team friendship. Still fun loving, eager to party, and very protective of her hair and sister. I've seen serious parts of her on occasion, but those are as rare as a blue moon.

"And I swear to God, if you use that air horn to wake me up again I will sodomize you with a dozen fire arrows, got it!"

"Alright, alright, I get it! Geez, you're no fun when you're having your peri-"

*_SLAM!*_

"What did I say about mentioning that in public, you moron!?"

"…Did you have to bash my head into my breakfast? I think I got butter in my nose."

And the morning is complete with Dia punishing Ash once more for something he so richly deserves. As I said, I'm still bitter towards him for the trouble he put me through that day, so seeing him suffering in the hands of his teammate gives me a bit of sadistic joy.

Team BLAD, as a whole, has always been a curious group in my eyes. Sure they're as tight a group as our team and RWBY, but I noticed that they spend most of their time apart than with each other. Ash and, surprisingly, Levy are the most sociable of the group and often hang out with either team RWBY or us in team JNPR than together. Ash himself has also been training with us on occasion and giving Jaune tips on how to control his aura while I've seen Levy with team RWBY and actually give them medical lectures every now and again. I can't help but feel sorry for them though. Lectures like those are not all that fun to listen to without having a proper appreciation towards the field of medicine, something that none of us have.

Baltazar, on the other hand, spends a lot of time on his own, even after he became more comfortable with us, either working on one of his many projects, sleeping, or actually doing an odd job here and there as an employee of both Azure Armory Inc. and Relámpagos Repairs. According to Yang, he has always been like that since their time in Signal; a soft-spoken introvert that would rather tinker with his inventions than spend time with others. Thankfully he has made recent attempts to spend more time with us, much to the pleasure of many of us, especially Weiss.

I guess that incident involving the heiress overworking herself to the point of sickness really affected him more than he'd like to admit…and opened our eyes to see how dark and sinister he can be when provoked. He truly is protective of her, and by proxy us, and I'm glad he's on our side…

Then there's Dia. Honestly, I can't make heads or tails about her sometimes. It's as if she's Blake's both equal and opposite at times. She's more sociable and enjoys spending time with us, but she practically never tells us about her past, only giving us snippets of her island school and her home village. She also knows more about certain things that most people wouldn't know about, such as her knowledge of Jeweled Flower Island, one of the most dangerous places in Remnant. There is also the way she fights… I'm not too sure, but for some reason, whenever we spar, it feels like she's never giving her all, like she's holding back her full potential. I know I'm not the first to realize this, but until Dia admits it herself, the rest of us won't say anything about it.

"N-Nora? Are you sure you should be drowning your pancakes in that much syrup?"

"Why not, Jaune-Jaune? Syrup makes pancakes taste infinitely better! It's even good by itself!"

"I know, but having all that syrup doesn't really look all that healthy…"

"It's fine! I work out! Besides, most of the food I eat goes to my front bumpers anyways, so it's all good!"

"Front bumpers?"

"My boobs."

"Oh…"

And then there's my team, which I wouldn't trade away for anything. Jaune has proven himself to be quite the leader, despite his less than spectacular standing compared to the rest of us. I'm well aware that he came to this academy very unprepared, but Pyrrha and his fellow leaders have taken great strides in improving his academics and combat skills. He has come a long way from the lovable goof with some skill that he was in the beginning. He's still a lovable goof, but now he's able to handle himself quite nicely from time to time. He will go far. I'm sure of it.

I really do have to thank Pyrrha for supporting him this much. She truly is much more than what those fighting tournaments and magazines make her out to be. Pyrrha is indeed strong and a genius in the battle field, but she's also kind, helpful, humble and an all-around good person who is, honestly, a little socially awkward due to how little friends she had due to her fame. If I recall, only Ash and Weiss were her only real friends before coming here, and she spent more time with the former than the latter, something that I myself will have difficulty accomplishing, even with my long-standing friendship/relationship with Nora as exprience. I guess that's why she likes Jaune so much, the guy didn't know her outside from Pumpkin Pete's, and treated her like a normal person other than a celebrity. Here's hoping their relationship lasts a long time.

Speaking of relationships, I doubt I'll ever be as happy as the time I heard Nora admitting that she liked me. To be honest, I knew she had feelings for me, and I won't deny that I had those feelings as well, but like her, I decided not to say anything about it, out of fear of ruining our friendship. I guess that fear went away when we saw another pair of best friends get together. I was also kind of surprised by how much effort Nora put in to her confession attempts, especially the one where she managed to get Dia and Weiss into hula outfits to try and serenade me. I wish I'd seen it happen too, that would've been hilarious. In any case, I'm happy that I've overheard her accidental confession at midterms last semester, even if it did cost me the match.

I've also heard she's been writing a song about her feelings and has been going to team BLAD lately for some help with it. Heh, I can't wait to hear it…

"Hey Ren? Are you ok? You have that curious look on your face again…"

"I'm just curious about the song Nora's been writing. Nothing much," I admitted to Pyrrha automatically. I had nothing to hide, so I figured I'd just say what I was thinking.

"My song? It's done actually! When we're done with classes today, I'll play it for you!" Nora said cheerfully, prompting me to turn my head towards her in surprise.

"Really? You finished it?"

"It's done and you'll love it! It's so cute!" I heard Levy gush behind me, and I heard many of our friends chuckle at her actions.

"I enjoyed making it. It's a little sappy to me, but hey, what do I know? I'm not a love-struck loon of a girl that's together with her dream guy," Dia grinned while nudging Nora on her side, who simply beamed with a light blush on her face.

I found that expression awfully adorable…

"Oh! Can we hear it too!?" Ruby begged, and I could see the rest of the team looking at us with interest.

"Of course, so long as Nora doesn't mind," I said while glancing at my longtime friend.

"Why not! The more the merrier, I always say, so no worries!" She chirped.

"_Oye_, that's my line…" I heard a soft grumble, and I couldn't help but chuckle at Baltazar's quiet whine.

"Well, it's almost time for class! Time for us to spit up," Weiss spoke up as she stood up, prompting the rest of us to stand as well.

"You guys have that big test with Port, right?" Pyrrha asked Jaune, as he was the only one of our team to have the class with RWBY, Baltazar and Levy.

"Yeah, I just hope I'll do well. Professor Port doesn't really give the best of lectures…" Jaune admitted with a wince.

"Agreed," Team RWBY, Baltazar, and even Levy said together.

"Well then, I guess we'll see you dudes at Professor Goodwitch's class at eleven!" Ash said with a grin, something that caught my attention.

"What's with that smile of yours, Ash?" I asked.

"It's our combat evaluations today, dude! That means one-on-one matches for an entire hour! Time to get hype!" The battle happy redhead cheered, and I noticed that both Nora and Yang began cheering alongside him. I, however, began to simply smirk at the tidbit of info.

I can't wait to find out who I'm sparing against.

-Later, Goodwitch's Class-

"Hmm… It seems that she's getting used to sparing more aggressively, but I can see he's still uncomfortable with fighting other people…" I said as I saw Levy spar against Sun in the arena.

"Yeah… Rita's been helping her become more comfortable with fighting other people, but Levy's still kind to a fault and a trained medic. It will always be difficult for a soft-hearted individual who's job is to heal others to go all out on anyone unless absolutely," Weiss explained with a sigh, sitting to the left of me as I analyzed the fight between the Faunus and the medic.

"And yet despite that, she's still one of the best martial artists in our class and holds the record for fastest victory. Makes me wonder how much she'll improve if she stops holding back…" I muttered as I stared analytically at the arena, and nodded when I saw Levy poke a couple spots on Sun's shoulder, causing it to go limp.

"Unless you find some that Levy truly can't beat with her usual tactics, you'll be hard pressed to see her go all out, Ren," Baltazar stated tiredly from my right, who was back to wearing his old clothes, except his coat, which was on his lap.

"Hmm…" I simply nodded in understanding. Knowing that our friendly medic is more skilled than she showed and actually seeing her being that skilled are completely different…and I just have to settle for just the confirmation I've received from the white and blue couple near me.

"He's done. Levy's gone and disabled one of his legs. The fight's hers now," I heard Blake state from behind me, and I could see that she's right. Sun was struggling to get up and soon enough, he fell flat on his face, with Levy bowing in apology. I looked at their aura monitors and saw that while both of them were still pretty full, Sun's image had a large X on it, stating that he was unable to continue.

To be honest, I'm glad that I didn't have to fight her. Sparing with her is enjoyable, I'm not going to lie, but I'd rather not suffer through being temporarily paralyzed again, even if last time was an accident. Despite that, though, I'm glad that Levy won, and as she and Sun came towards us, the latter leaning on the former slightly, I smiled at her in acknowledgment of her victory.

"Hey, dude. Sorry ya lost. Levs is quite the opponent for anyone who doesn't know her tactics." Ash said sympathetically as Neptune, who decided to hang out with us when class started, walked over and grabbed his friend off the medic's shoulder.

"Ah, it's fine. Kind of a new experience for me, actually. Never fought anyone that's able to take me out in a couple pokes, so it was a big challenge." Sun said with a grin.

"You'll never get used to being poked into paralysis, trust me," Weiss sighed while I nodded in agreement.

"Be that as it may, it was still an impressive match to watch." I said as I turned to Levy, "I noticed that you incorporated a couple other fighting styles in that fight instead of your typical Eight Trigrams Palm style. If I had to guess…Tai Chi and…Praying Mantis?"

"Southern Praying Mantis, to be exact. Abuelito taught me his four best martial art styles and I pretty much mastered them by this point. I also know Northern Shaolin, but I don't use it all that often. Baltazar uses it more than I do." Levy explained while pointing at her feline cousin, who simply nodded back in confirmation.

"Hmm… I see. I'm quite familiar with different types of martial arts myself, so knowing someone like you who is a master of multiple styles can be quite helpful. Think you can give me some tips when we have some free time?" I couldn't help but ask. My martial arts skills are good, but it can't hurt to further improve your abilities.

"Of course! I'd be happy to-"

"Will Lie Ren of team JNPR and Yang Xiao Long of team RWBY please come down? It is your turn to spar!" We heard Professor Goodwitch call out, causing me to grimace slightly when I heard who I was sparing against.

"Me verses The Renster, eh? This ought to be good," Yang grinned as she punched a fist into her palm, making me groan a little.

"Good for you, but painful for me if I'm not careful." I grumbled as I saw her go towards the arena.

"Why do you say that, Ren?" Pyrrha asked from in front of me, tilting her head to see me.

I didn't reply, but instead pulled one of my StormFlowers out of my sleeve and pointed at the blade. As soon as I saw everyone's eyes go wide, I knew they understood my situation.

"Oh…uh…well…looks like you just have to make sure you don't cut her hair then," Jaune suggested uncomfortably.

"Easier said than done, bud. Trust me," Dia spoke up with a wince, and I recalled that she was the one who faced Yang during their finals match and wound up cutting a bit of her hair with her arrows.

She was called the Barbequed Bowgirl for the rest of the day after that.

"Are you sure you're ok to fight though, Ren? I remember that you weren't looking all that well not that long ago…" Levy spoke up in concern. I can't blame her for her worry, but honestly, I feel pretty good right now, and I don't mind going out there to spar, but I just wish I was against an opponent who can pound me into a burning past if I accidentally cut her hair.

"I'm fine, Levy. I'm good to fight. I just don't know what kind of state I'll be when this battle's over…" I said with a wry smile.

Sighing in defeat, I decided to accept my fate and headed towards the arena for my spar with Yang. This will be a difficult challenge for me. We're both skilled in close combat, but while I'm more of a precision fighter, Yang plows through her foes through brute strength, and if I resort to using my blades, I have to be very careful not to cut a bit of her hair off by accident.

Considering how much of an easy target it is, though, that's easier said than done.

"Students? Are you ready?" Professor Goodwitch asked the two of us, prompting us to go into our fighting stances, ready to bout.

"We are," We said firmly, my calm tone a stark contrast to Yang's excited one.

"Then you may begin."

The moment she said those words, we charged, my blades clashing against her gauntlets. To be honest, most of the spar was a bit of a blur. We clashed, we struck, we evaded, it was a typical spar that kept the blood pumping and made both me and my opponent stronger in the process. The two of us continued to bout, each of us landing a good blow here and there, and I managed to nick her cheek a little, but I ended up having part of my hair singed from barely dodging one of her flaming fists. I noticed that she was about to land another blow to me and I quickly retaliated by firing my guns at her. Thankfully the two of us were using non-lethal rounds, so they didn't hurt her too badly when they hit. However, as I fired, I noticed something on the ground and I paled drastically at the sight.

There were some strands of blonde hair on the ground, some of it singed from my bullets. I accidentally shot some of Yang's hair off when I shot her.

Evidently she noticed too, as the arena quickly grew hotter and I saw her eyes glowing a furious red now. She charged at me wildly, and I had to my best to not get too damaged from her angry assault. She managed to get a good hit on my stomach, enough to make me lose my weapons, but not enough to knock me out, surprisingly. Without my weapons, I resorted to using my martial arts to combat her, and managed to blow her away with a palm strike. She didn't look too hurt, though, and for some reason, it felt like the heat around her was getting more intense. She then let off a burst of fire so bright that I had to cover my eyes. One moment later I opened my eyes slightly, and I caught a sight of a blonde blur, followed by a roar similar to that of a lioness.

Then everything turned black…

-Dining Hall, afternoon-

"Hahaha…sorry for knocking you out, Ren. Didn't mean to go wild on you," Yang laughed sheepishly while scratching her neck.

"It's ok. It just means I have to be more careful about where I shoot. Though to be fair, your hair is a bit of a big target." I muttered, holding a sack full of ice on my head to alleviate the pain from her blazing punch.

"Yang, you need to learn to control your temper around your friends… I'm aware that your strength comes from your emotions, but using such power on friends is very dangerous," Levy lectured in a stern tone, and I chuckled slightly when I saw our local firebrand actually shrink a little at our medic's disapproving tone and expression.

I'm not surprised by her actions, though. Levy's always has our health in her best interest and is usually the one who heals us whenever we're done sparing. I kind of feel bad for making her worry so much in our fights, but we are required to push past our limits in order to become stronger.

The stronger we become, the better we can protect our loved ones from evil. That's the main reason why I'm not too upset at Yang for decking me to the point of unconsciousness.

"Heh, one of the fiercest fighters in our class is actually afraid of the closest thing our school has to a pacifist. I can't help but find the irony of the situation a bit funny," Jaune muttered in amusement as he ate some of his lunch, a slice of ham and pineapple pizza.

Did I forget to mention that today we're getting catering from Rosso's Pizzeria? I guess that blow from Yang messed with my head more than I thought.

"You are aware that the 'pacifist' you're talking about is more than capable of paralyzing your mouth and make you unable to eat, right?" I heard Weiss state smugly as I turned to her, seeing her elegantly eat her slice of vegetarian pizza.

"…You're speaking from personal experience, aren't you?" I couldn't help but ask. She didn't answer, but the slight flinch and light blush on her face were enough answers for me.

"Oh, I remember Cody telling me about that," Ruby spoke up before turning to Levy, "He said that you used to use him and your friends as test subjects for the pressure point techniques that your grandpa taught you. I think he even said that you accidentally screwed up at one point and made him not able to use his right leg for a week!"

"Really? Is that true?" Pyrrha questioned curiously, and I saw Levy blush a little in embarrassment while looking away in shame.

"…It is. I had trouble with my pressure point techniques in the beginning and I almost always ended up paralyzing someone during my training. It was almost as bad as when…I tried to…"

I frowned when she trailed off. Levy has always been a sensitive person according to Weiss, and recalling certain past experiences seemed to always bring her mood down. I've even heard from Jaune and Pyrrha that she broke down a little shortly after the ball we had at the end of the previous semester. It bothers me that someone as kind hearted as her is still suffering from events from her past…

"Whoa, Levs, no need to look like that!" Ash shouted. "You were just starting out, right? Of course there would be some mistakes in the beginning. Heck when I first started practicing my semblance, I literally broke my hand while trying to punch a boulder because I didn't harden my arm enough."

"…Sorry, Ash, but the mistakes from my childhood were more severe than that. At least you didn't nearly electrocute someone." Levy mumbled sadly, and I noticed that tears were forming in her eyes.

I couldn't help but sigh at her actions. Levy told us a while ago about an incident where she tried to use one of Rita's experimental weapons and ended up nearly shocking Duke to death, which gave her a fear of lightning manipulation. Just the slightest hint of mentioning it or something similar causes her to spiral into a self-deprecating depression.

And I thought Baltazar had self-esteem issues.

"Oh great, Levy's depressed again. Think someone can wake Chief up so he can help us cheer her up," Dia grumbled while pointing to the side of her, which showed our narcoleptic friend passed out once again, his meat lover's pizza all devoured the moment he sat down.

I don't blame him for being more tired than normal, though. He was one of the first to spar in class and ended up fighting Nora of all people. Fighting her will always leave people exhausted, no matter who you are.

"I'll do it!" Nora volunteered beside me while standing up quickly, and I immediately winced, not only because her actions aggravated my still tender wounds, but because her methods of waking _other_ people up are not as gentle as waking me up.

Jaune and Pyrrha can attest that.

"Don't bother, Nora, I'm already awake…" Baltazar's tired voice spoke up, causing Nora to whine a little as he lifted his head, but I couldn't help but notice something off about him. He had this air of melancholy around him, as if he's seen some sort of tragedy recently, and it unnerved me. A dark individual he may be, but it isn't often to see him like this.

And apparently, I wasn't the only one who noticed.

"Baltazar, are you ok? You look a little distressed," Blake questioned politely.

"…I don't know. For some reason, I feel like something happened recently. Like an accident just happened or something. It's something that I haven't been able to shake for a while…" Baltazar admitted before turning to me, something that I found a little odd, "At first I thought it was because you weren't looking that good lately, Ren. Heck, you even passed out a little in Dr. Oobleck's class a couple days back, but you bounced back after your little spell. Even after you got better, though, the feeling didn't go away, at least not completely. I can't really explain it, but it's like the back of my mind is telling me that we're in for some bad news really soon."

I understood where he was coming from, and I couldn't help but feel bad for not only him, but for the others as well, for making them worry about me. For a while now, shortly after our spar with Rita, I've been feeling a sense of dread, and my body wasn't performing at its best, but I've ignored it for a while, thinking that I was coming down with something. As time passed, though, it only grew stronger, and it became increasingly difficult for me to go on with the day…and it kind of scared me.

And, worst of all, for some reason, I felt like I died a little when I woke up a couple days ago. It was very difficult for me to wake up, but I was somehow able to thanks to my teammates. I was very sluggish and exhausted for most of the day, and all I wanted to do was sleep. In fact, I actually fell asleep for a brief moment at Dr. Oobleck's class, though as soon as I closed my eyes, a voice echoed in my head that I swore sounded just like me.

_Keep moving forward._

As soon as those words came into my head, I suddenly felt invigorated. I felt my body go back to normal and for the life of me I can't figure out why. The others were confused by my recovery as well, but didn't really complain. They weren't going to look at a gift horse in the mouth, and neither was I, but even after I got better, I still felt a little off. Like a part of me was missing, and I can't figure out why…

"Eh, you're probably just being paranoid, dude. I mean, you do have a crazy psycho cousin who's staying here for the festival. Maybe you're just worried you might get experimented on or something…" I heard Ash say dismissively. I can tell that it was his way to try and lighten the mood, and I commend him for that.

"…Maybe you're right. But if that's the case, then it's not me that's at risk." My lightning enhanced friend said with a small, amused grin, before turning to Weiss, "If I recall, she's been wanting to meet with you to discuss the last project you two worked on. Something about making your hair three different colors at once, I believe."

"She is not getting near me ever again!" The startled heiress shouted, causing all of us to laugh and the mood to change for the better. Its times like this were I'm glad to be surrounded by so many friends. It makes me wish that these peaceful times that we live in could last forever.

Sadly…as the old saying goes…nothing lasts forever.

[_Attention Students._] A voice in the intercom announced, causing my eyes to go wide.

It was Ozpin, and he almost never makes an announcement unless it was something really important.

[_Will all students, both regular and transfer, along with all faculty members, please come to the auditorium at once for an important meeting. Classes will be canceled for the rest of the day. Again, all students and faculty members please come to the auditorium at once._]

I began to feel a sense of dread once more, but it was a different kind of dread than the one I've felt recently. Odds are this was the sense that Baltazar was talking about earlier. I took a look at everyone, and I noticed their downcast expressions, and I can tell they're thinking of the worst.

"Guys? What's happening?" Nora spoke up nervously, not that I blame her. The tone in Professor Ozpin's voice sounded anything but happy. In fact, it sounded quite melancholy.

"I don't know, but I don't like it," Ruby muttered.

"Well then, we better head over to the auditorium to see what Ozpin wants, guys. Something tells me we're not going to like the news, though." Dia suggested as all of us in the dining hall got up and began heading towards our destination.

I had a feeling that what Ash just said was a horrible understatement. I sincerely hope I was wrong.

-Auditorium, early evening-

The meeting was done. Many people were gone. Some in tears, some hysteric, and many of us in various forms of distraught.

One of Beacon's older teams, a group of fourth year students, was sent on a high ranked mission, something that was typical for someone of their level, but something happened. The mission details were miswritten, and the team ended up facing some powerful Grimm that was not in their mission report and were completely unprepared for it.

They never stood a chance, and all of them met their end at the hands of the very monsters we were trained to kill.

It was a slap on the face for many of us, especially those who still believed that being a huntsman or huntress was all fun and games. News flash: It Isn't. We are not invincible. We have strengths and weaknesses just like every other human and Faunus out there. We risk our lives every day to keep our loved ones safe. Dying on the job is to be expected in our field of work.

Expected…but not easy to accept.

"…Was this was you were expecting when you said that you had a bad feeling about today, _primo_?" Levy said in a soft, subdued tone from one of the nearby seats.

"…Sort of," Baltazar admitted, sighing tiredly from his standing position on the stage with Weiss leaning on him for support, "I could tell that we were about to get some bad news soon, but I didn't know it was going to be this bad…"

"I can't believe that we just lost a team to a bunch of Grimm. Aren't we supposed to be the ones to kill them?" Jaune muttered as he sat on the stage, Pyrrha leaning on him and resting on his shoulder to comfort him.

"Jaune, this is one of the risks that we have to face when we accepted our role as Vale's protectors. It's something that we all have to accept. It's our reality, after all," Blake said solemnly.

"I know, but that doesn't make it any easier. Knowing that there's a good chance that we might die because of a simple mistake. It isn't fair," My leader muttered once more.

"Life's not fair, bud. In fact, life's pretty much crappy most of the time. I should know," I heard Dia said softly, and I felt a pang of sympathy towards her.

She was speaking from experience. She lost someone close to her. That's the only explanation why she would say what she said.

"She's right, Jaune. Life isn't fair. Despite that, though, we have to make the most of it and plow through what it throws of us. This is just another hurdle that we have to jump over, and once we do, we'll be even stronger. It's our duty to ensure the safety of our loved ones with our lives and maintain the peace in our world, even if it means there's a good chance we won't get to see the results of our work." Yang stated in a surprisingly upbeat tone while leaning on the side of the stage, catching our attention.

"Wow, Yang. I didn't expect you to be so profound." Weiss said in a surprised and impressed tone.

"I know what it likes to lose someone you love, Weiss. I know how painful it is, but I don't let it get to me. I use my pain to make me stronger, so that I can ensure that I don't lose anyone else." Yang replied in a serious tone while turning to Ruby, who was sitting next to her, with loving and protective eyes, and I felt myself smiling at the sight. She truly is a devoted older sister who would do anything to protect her baby sister, and I respect her greatly for that.

"I'm still worried about us, though." Jaune spoke up once more. "I mean, that could've been us out there on a mission with poor intel. That could've been us that died. I…I don't want any of you guys to die. All of you mean as much to me as my parents and sister, and I can't imagine my life without any of you."

"That's life, Jaune. Full of hardships, difficult choices, and loss, either by your hand or by someone else's," Blake spoke up with a faraway look in her eyes. "Death is a natural part of life too, and it's a destiny that we can't change. We don't live forever. That is why we must do our best with the time we have to accomplish all that we can before our own demise."

"Indeed. Life is difficult, but so long as we have a strong resolve, then we can ensure that we can have a fulfilling life," I stated, getting everyone's attention, before continuing. "I believe that both the human spirit and the Faunus spirit are indomitable. If you endeavor to achieve, it will happen given enough resolve. It may not be immediate, and often your greater dreams is something you will not achieve within your own lifetime. The effort you put forth to anything transcends yourself, for there is no futility even in death. That…is what I believe…"

And I truly did. I honestly believe that so long as we possess a strong will, a strong resolve to make things right, then we are able to accomplish great things that will last even in death, whether it is saving a village from a pack of wild monster or raising a loving family. Even something as simple as creating a show for other people's amusement can be seen as an incredible thing in many people's eyes. It is true that we don't last forever, and our own lives can end in a heartbeat due to our profession, but that will not stop me…

No…will not stop _us_, from doing the right thing; to protect our loved ones and ensure their safety.

As soon as I said my little speech, I caught noticed that everyone was staring at me with wide eyes. I can tell that everyone was impressed by what I said, and I truly hope that they take my words to heart. I would've said more, but I wasn't able to thanks to a certain childhood friend of mine hugging me tightly and crying in my shirt.

"R-R-Ren! Th-that was the-*_hic*_-most beautiful thing I've ever he-_*sob*_heard!" I heard her sob in me, and I found myself hugging her just as tightly and kissed the top of her head, very grateful for her words.

"It really is, dude. You should be a philosopher or something after we graduate!" Ash suggested in an amused tone.

"…You're thinking about me writing fortune cookies for a living, aren't you?" I asked in a deadpanned tone. It was too easy to see what he was thinking most of the time, especially if he's grinning like an idiot like that.

"I can see him doing that for a living," Pyrrha admitted with a giggle, which sparked laughter with some of our friends while I simply sighed in mild exasperation. I'm glad the mood was lifted though, but I can tell there are still some of us that are a little distraught about what had transpired.

Especially the person that I care about the most who was still in my arms.

"Ren…" I heard her whisper, and I looked down at her to see her staring back at me, her eyes red and puffy from crying, and I can tell what's on her mind.

"Ren… Promise that you won't leave me. Even if something bad happens, I want to be with you forever, so please…don't leave me. I don't want to be alone without you…

"I love you too much to lose you…"

I felt myself tear up a little at her request. I knew it was coming, but that didn't stop me from becoming a little emotional. I don't blame her, though. I'm afraid of losing her too. However, I don't let that discourage me. I don't plan on leaving her, even if I pass on, and I think it's best if I let her know.

"Don't worry, Nora. I'm not going anywhere. Even in death, I'll always be with you. With all of my friends, but with you especially. I love you too, after all," I stated seriously with a soft smile.

It's not often that I said 'I love you' to her, but every time I say it, I always meant it. I tilted her head up and kissed her to seal the deal, before ending it and returned to embracing her. I heard more sniffling, but not just from Nora. I looked ahead and smiled when I saw the girls looking at me with tears in their eyes, obviously touched by what I said. In fact, even Jaune and Baltazar were a little teary eyed as well. Only Ash wasn't crying, but I can tell from the look in his eyes that he was just as touched as the others were. After a few more moments of silence, I ended my embrace with my love and asked her a simple question.

"…Do you mind if we hear your song now?"

"Of course!" Nora said very happily, bringing a meaningful smile to my face.

As soon as those words escape her lips. I saw team BLAD go to work, preparing themselves for another impromptu performance, all of them with happy expressions, as the rest of us, went to find seats. Nora was on stage as well to assist them, looking like she's back to her old self. I smiled, glad that everyone's feeling better now after our little heart to heart.

"Hmm…setting up for another performance I see."

I didn't jump, but I was startled slightly by the sound of Headmaster Ozpin speaking behind me. I turned around and saw that he wasn't alone. Professors Goodwitch and Port, Dr. Oobleck, team CFVY, Sun, and Neptune were all here. I wasn't expecting them to show up, but I'm not complaining. Now Nora has a much bigger audience to entertain, and I'll know she'll enjoy it. She loves public performances.

"Well, this explains the instruments that I found behind the stage this morning. I thought one of our ball organizers brought in the instruments too early," Professor Goodwitch muttered in an amused tone.

"Ho-ho! It is wonderful to see such a sight after receiving such dreadful news!" Professor Port exclaimed joyfully.

"Indeed! They've taken the news to heart, and are striving their best to move forward from the pain and fear that the loss of their upperclassmen!" Dr. Oobleck stated in an impressed tone.

"Well then, how about we find some seats and enjoy the show?" Coco suggested with her arms crossed, with her team nodding in agreement.

"I'm down with that!" Neptune grinned as he and Sun, along with the others began looking for good seats.

"Alright, Ren, we're done! Get ready fo-Whoa!" Nora shouted, catching my attention, and I laughed a little at her surprised expression.

"Yo Nora, hope you don't mind having a bigger audience!" Sun grinned with a thumbs up.

"Of course not! The more the merrier!" Nora chirped before turning behind her, "Ok guys, you ready?!"

"No worries," Baltazar muttered from behind a keyboard.

"Good to go!" Dia chirped with a guitar in her hands.

"We're ready, dude!" Ash grinned with a thumbs up from his spot behind the drum set.

"Of course, Nora. Shall we begin?" Levy confirmed politely while holding up a trumpet, something that caught my attention.

"…Levy's using her trumpet for this? I guess that explains why Baltazar's working the keyboard now." I stated in amusement.

"The piece actually uses more instruments than we're using, so we have a track set up to fill in the missing parts. Took us a while to get it right, but it was worth it…" Baltazar explained while patting the keyboard before putting on an earpiece with a small microphone.

"This song is gonna rock, dude! You're gonna love it!" Ash exclaimed, also while wearing a microphone in his ear.

"That's right!" Levy affirmed, the only one who didn't have a microphone of any kind on her.

"Alright everyone! Are you ready for one of the best songs ever?!" Dia announced loudly, causing many of my friends, and even a couple of the professors, to cheer.

"Hehehe…Thanks for coming, everyone!" Nora started with a microphone in her hand, looking a little nervous. "I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting so many people to be here, but I won't complain. This song was something I've been working on ever sense I was little, when I first found out that I was in love with my best friend. I wrote it and rewrote it hundreds of times, and every time I think I got it right, I find something that I don't like and start all over. Even after Ren and I got together, I kept working on it, hoping to finally find the right way to make the song work so that I can sing it to him…"

"Nora…" I whispered in surprise. I didn't know she was working on this song for so long. I knew she liked me for a while, but to hear that she liked me to this point for a long time…makes me very happy.

I'm lucky that I have her in my life.

"Now though, I finally managed to finish it just how I wanted it to be! It took me a while, and I had to get some help with Dia here, but now…I think it's perfect!" Nora continued while gesturing to Dia, who simply grinned back at her with a thumbs up, before turning back to us. "Before we get this started, I want Ren to come up really quick!"

A little confused by her request, I got up from my seat and walked towards the stage until I was right in front of it. It was then when she crouched down to my level with the biggest smile on her face, a cherry red blush on her face.

"Ren…thanks so much for being with me since the beginning. I don't know what I'd do without you, and this song will hopefully tell you how much you mean to me…" She said kindly, bringing a smile to my face, and brought a hand towards my face, her index finger pointing at me, and I smiled, knowing what was going to happen.

She pressed my nose, and said a single word. Her favorite word.

"Boop!"

As soon as she said that, the song began, a soft piano playing. I guess _boop_ was their starting word, but I wasn't expecting it to begin so soon, and I simply stood as Nora began to sing.

~Never knew a time, when you weren't by my side.  
The one thing I could always count on.  
Always there for me, you've been my family.  
Even when all other hope was gone. (_Goooone!_)

But for a while things have seemed so different,  
Like it's the same but still brand new.  
I can't believe it, when did I start to fall for you?~

I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting her song to start like this. Soft, calm, and emotional. The guys were also singing with her, another thing that surprised me. The soft tone ended shortly after the last word passed, and the song picked up to something that definitely sounds more Nora-esque. I couldn't help but smile when the change happened, because this song now just screams Nora.

And I love it.

~Have I lost my mind, have I just been blind,  
Never to have seen you might be,  
Everything I need, everything I dream,  
All along has it been right in front of me?  
We've been together for a long long long long time.  
I've never thought that you and I could be a thing.  
I can't believe it, this is happening.

I think, 'Oh whoa what am I to do?' (_ooo OOO ooo!_)  
I didn't know that I would fall in love with you, (Fall in love with you!)  
And what to do right now I haven't got a clue.  
I just bite my tongue and when I want to say I love you I say,  
(_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_) Boop! (_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_)

(_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_) Boop! (_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_)

(_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_) Boop! (_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_)

Every chatelaine wants to share her reign, so come and join me in my castle.  
We'll crush our enemies, bring them to their knees,  
And though I have a tendency to babble.  
When I think about you I can't help my heart from racing.  
My mind goes fast and my knees start shaking.  
My stomach does flips, and my brain does flops,  
And the feelings that I'm feeling I don't think that I can stop.  
I could just say it, I love your everything.  
But I can't quite tell myself, if you're feeling quite the same.  
Maybe I should slow it down, try to show restraint.  
Hold Magnhild, I think I'm gonna faint!~

I chuckled a little as Dia went into a solo. I am greatly enjoying the song Nora made, and it really does show how much she's liked and cared for me in the beginning. She was practically in love with me since the beginning, but instead of outright saying it, she simply said her favorite word to convey her feelings. Again…I am touched by how much this bubbly bombardier of a best friend of mine felt towards me, and so long as I exist, whether in life or death, I will always be with her. No matter what…

~I think, 'Oh whoa what am I to do?' (_Ooo OOO ooo_!)  
I didn't know that I would fall in love with you, (Fall in love with you!)  
And what to do right now, I haven't got a clue.  
I just bite my tongue and when I want to say I love you I say,  
(_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_) I'll say boop! (_Boop boop!_) (_Boop boop!_)  
Boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo-boo boop.  
When I want to say I love you I'll say…

BoooOOOP!~

A somewhat abrupt end, but a fitting one nevertheless, and everyone began applauding her. The song was great, easily the best I've heard, and it was made by the woman I love. I watched as said woman jumped off the staged and rushed at me, giving me a very tight hug. I didn't complain, however, and simply hugged her back. She looked up at me with her bright and excitable eyes and asked a simple question. One that I was expecting as soon as she was finished.

"Soooo…what do you think?"

A simple, expected question, but one that I know holds a lot of meaning for her depending on how I answer. She worked on it for a long time after all. I didn't say anything immediately, simply stared at her with a small smile and amusement surely showing in my eyes. I pushed her away slightly, confusing her a little if the expression on her face was anything to go by, and brought a hand up at her. I brought a finger up and touched her nose, just as she did to me many times, and uttered my answer to her.

"Boop…"

_I love it. And I love you._

I guess she got my message, because as soon as I said it she kissed me hard and embraced me once again. I laughed a little once more at her actions and I can hear the others laughing and giggling as well. I don't blame them. Seeing Nora acting like this was always good entertainment.

They rest of the day was pretty mundane after that. We had dinner, spent some more time simply talking, watched as Yang ended up getting hit on the head by a wooden shuriken again because of her bad puns, and had a pretty good day over all.

It was evening now and everyone was in bed besides me. Jaune and Pyrrha were sleeping in their respective beds, not entirely ready to take it to the next step, despite them being the most 'lovey dubby' amongst our group's trio of couples. Nora on the other hand was sleeping on my bed again, something that occurs very often. An old habit of hers whenever she's feeling very happy or scared. A habit that I'm not planning on letting her brake if I have anything to say about it. I, however, was sitting on the window still, looking at the starlit sky. I enjoyed doing a little stargazing every now and again, and tonight was just too beautiful to pass up. I wish Nora was awake so that I can share this with her, but she used a lot of energy today and I don't have the heart to wake her. I looked at a nearby clock, and I noticed that it was getting let. I got off the window to go to bed with Nora, but I couldn't help but look back at the sky once more, and saw something I did not expect.

There, right next to the shattered moon, illuminated by the moonlight, was a transparent man, simply floating by with a small smile on his face. He looked like Ozpin with black hair and no glasses, and I could see a pair of wings on his back. I would've mistaken him for an avian Faunus if it wasn't for a little detail that I caught.

The small, golden halo on his head.

This was an angel, something that I was not expecting to see in this life time, and yet I felt strangely connected to him. Like we were one and the same. I smiled back at the angel, and he nodded back. I saw his lips move, but I wasn't expecting to hear him, since he was so far away, but his voice echoed in my head clear as a bell. His voice was just like mine, and the words he spoke were very familiar.

_Keep moving forward_.

It was then that I realized that he was the one who's voice I heard the other day after I passed out in Dr. Oobleck's class. The voice that reinvigorated me after I felt so bad shortly after the spar with Rita. He must've been a guardian angel watching over us. I muttered a thanks to him, and he must've heard it, for he nodded back once more before vanishing completely. I feel a little empty again, as if this was the only time I was going to see him, but I won't let it bother me. Instead, I simply went back to bed, held Nora into my chest, and began to drift off. I smiled as she snuggled into me, and as I began to sleep, I heard Professor Ozpin's voice echoing, restating the speech he made during the announcement of the loss of our upperclassmen. I smiled as I realized that the angel's words were also in that speech, and I fell into a deep, comfortable sleep as I allowed the quote echo in my head one more time.

…_For it is in passing that we achieve immortality.  
From one journey to another, towards your next great adventure…  
Remember, don't stop.  
Keep moving forward._

Author's note:

And here it is! The final revised chapter for Scattered Symphony. All in all, I'm truly happy with the revisions that I've made. Sorry it took so long to get them done too, but work and family matters kept me busy from getting to them. Especially with the recent promotion that I just got from my job. I will be getting a bit busier in the future, but I will try to have consistent updates. Thankfully, now that I'm done with these chapters, I can get to work on fixing up the other ones from Second Verse and implementing them here. They will be quite different from their previous versions, but I think the change will be quite welcome. Also, I don't know if I have stated this before, but there will be only one original arc for Scattered Symphony, due to the timeline in the canon RWBY's volume 2 being smaller in comparison to volume 1 and not giving me much time to work with. This version of the new arc will be different than the one I tried to do in Second Verse, and it is actually the original style that I wanted to use here in Scattered Symphony, so here's hoping that you guys like it! In the end, I am happy with my decision to bring this story back, and for sure, I am in it for the long haul. As always, everyone, thank you all so much for reading my stories and revisions, see you all at chapters 5 and 6 of this story, and be ready for a couple of surprises that will accompany the updates. See ya later!


	5. Hiccups on the Job

Hey guys. Black Fuego here with the next chapter for Scattered Symphony. This one came from the deleted Second Verse, but revamped enough to ensure its separation from the previous version. Plenty of notable changes here, so this chapter will be very different from its previous rendition. Here's hoping you guys like the changes that I've made! As always, guys, enjoy this new chapter of the BLAD of RWBY and JNPR and I hope you guys have a good day!

Disclaimer: I don't own the RWBY series nor any other series that may be mentioned in this fic. I did, however, put in my vote on Steam to greenlight Rooster Teeth's newest game: RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. If you guys already did this too, good for you. If you haven't, DO IT NOW! Thank you…

The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR: Scattered Symphony

Chapter 3: Hiccups on the Job

'_Three fifty nine. Only one more minute until it's time…_' Weiss thought as she silently stared at the digital clock on her desk.

It has been around a week since team RWBY had decided to try and figure out what Roman Torchwick and the White Fang was plotting and today was the day they were going to execute their plan. The girls had been making preparations and have been doing a lot of plotting in order to be ready for this day, and all of them were confident that they will pull their self-assigned mission off. Their friends, while reluctant at first, agreed to let them go at their mission alone, knowing full well the risks involved if all _twelve_ of them decided to investigate what the criminal and his new 'friends' were up to. Despite that, the girls didn't have the heart to tell them when they were going to start their operation, meaning they had no idea that today was the day they were heading out.

They also managed to get the approval of Levy's sister Rita, and even she was willing to cover them and help them out if needed. While not entirely necessary, it did ease the girls' minds a little knowing they had a legitimate huntress on their side if anything goes wrong. Can't be too careful after all.

'_Although I can't help but wonder why Rita was willing to help us out for free. Sure she's nice and all…most of the time, but even she won't do such favors without compensation…_' The quiet heiress thought in a curious tone, wondering about the sister of her best friend.

Normally she wouldn't allow her mind to wander and instead of focus on the lecture that was happening. However, she was in Professor Port's lecture room, and despite respecting the instructor greatly and knowing full well that the man knew what he was teaching, even she would admit that the man had a tendency to go off tangent with stories about his youth. It was during such lectures that many students would do various things to keep themselves occupied, from finishing assignments from other classes to simply sleeping through the 'lecture'. Weiss herself had trouble listening to the man during such times, and ended up developing a minor habit of mind wandering during such times.

Despite this, though, she wasn't completely inattentive, and paid just enough attention in order to know when the professor went back on topic or if someone wanted to speak to her. It was a talent that she was quite proud of and often made use of it whenever she could.

Such as now.

"Hey Weiss? Think we could get a bite to eat after this? Pyrrha's hoping we could go on another double date with you and Baltazar, if you don't mind. We can even go watch that new Spruce Willis movie that's playing right now." Jaune whispered his request as he scooched over to allow the heiress to hear him.

Weiss said nothing, however Jaune noticed that her eyes trailed briefly before her, where a certain lightning ninja was sitting at, sleeping without a care in the world while his cousin was staring at him in mild disappointment at his actions. The blonde thought nothing of it, knowing that it was a regular occurrence, and decided to make a joke out of it.

"Wow. He's definitely sawing logs down there. Makes you wonder how he keeps his grades up when he's like this most of the time." Jaune said with a soft chuckled, only to receive silence as a response, before trying again. "Oh, almost forgot, think you can help me with something? I've been meaning to ask you this lately, but with all the studying Pyrrha's having me do, I didn't really have the time to-"

*_BEE-EEP!*_

"Gah!

_*Bam!*_

"Ow! _Hijo de_…"

Before the blonde swordsman could finish his request, the alarm signaling the end of class went off, prompting not only Weiss, but several students to immediately get up and prepare to leave, including the once slumbering Baltazar if his startled yelp and hitting his head onto the back row desks was any indication. Professor Port himself also heard the alarm himself, but was in the middle of his lecture when it occurred and continued briefly until he recognized the sound and noticed the students getting up, much to his disappointment.

"Oh… Uh… Timed that one wrong, I guess…" Port muttered to himself before turning to his students. "Well, the stunning conclusion to this story will have to wait! Until next time."

With that final word in, everyone began departing from the lecture hall, many of them briskly either to get to their next class or to go off into town. Even Weiss started to head out quite hurriedly, something that surprised Jaune, and quickly tried to get her attention before she was gone.

"W-Weiss? Did you hear what I said?" The teen asked somewhat nervously.

"Send me a message about what you want and I'll think about it, Jaune." Weiss answered in a calm tone, before heading out of the classroom with Ruby, Blake and Yang not too far along.

"…Well, at least she didn't say no. And I got a thanks, too. Better than nothing I guessed," Jaune sighed as he slumped towards the desk, ignoring Baltazar walking away grumbling to himself and rubbing the back of his head while Levy was giggling slightly behind him. He didn't move even after Yang passed by him, pat his head, and gave him a little verbal pick-me-up, if it could be considered that.

"Little victories, Vomit Boy. Little victories…"

-Team RWBY's Room, A few minutes later-

"I thought that class would never end…" Blake muttered as she tightened the ribbon around her arm while looking at Ruby, Weiss and Yang, who were relaxing on their respective beds

As soon as the girls had returned to their room, all of them had changed out of their uniforms and into a new set of clothes that they had for the mission. For Ruby, she wore a grey long sleeved shirt with a metal attachment on her right shoulder under a black corset-overall hybrid top, a red skirt that was black underneath it with a black colored version of her rose emblem on it, black stockings, black and red boots, and a small red cape that doubled as a scarf. For Weiss, she was wearing a simple high collar white dress with black edgings and buttons, black frills on the bottom of her skirt, a light blue version of her snowflake emblem on the back of her dress, thigh high white heeled boots and black stockings that were barely coming out of her boots. Blake was wearing a white V-neck zipper shirt that was black at the bottom of it and showed her midriff with her belladonna emblem in an off white color on the right side of her shirt, black pants with grey stripes on them and a black belt with a couple pieces of fabric coming out of them, and a pair of black high heeled boots. Lastly, Yang decided to wear a collared cream top over a black shirt and a black semi jacket over the top, a pendant with a purple gem, a black miniskirt with a pair of belts and a piece of purple fabric hanging off of it, a pair of black stockings with her flaming heart emblems on either side and a pair of black boots with white bows on the back of them.

"Alright guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby announced, getting her teammate's attention, and jumped off her bed excitedly, much to the annoyance of her teammate.

"I'm glad you're taking this _so_ seriously…" Weiss drawled out sarcastically as she moved away from the exuberant team leader.

"Hey, we got a plan. That's…moderately serious." Yang pointed out weakly with a sheepish smile.

"Right! And don't forget, we have an expert joining us! Can't forget about him!" Ruby exclaimed while spreading her arms wide towards the desk, were Charcoal was located at.

Blake turned to the cat, and could only shake her head in disbelief when she saw that the little ball of fur was not paying attention to the girls. He wasn't even awake. The cat was sleeping, curled up in a little ball and either completely oblivious or completely ignoring the world around it. To the Cat Faunus, it didn't seem like the bundle of pyrotechnic stealth that assisted her in the docks and was more like a typical lazy cat that looked like it just ate a filling meal.

"I'm not too sure about allowing Charcoal assisting us if he's going to be like that all day," Blake spoke up with a hand on her hip.

"Oh don't worry about it, Blake. He knows when to get serious." Yang assured as she leapt off her bed as well.

"I'll wake him up. Just give me a moment," Weiss said as she got up from her bed and towards the desk, and pulled out a small bag of what looked like cat treats and began shaking them, causing the black cat to stir slightly.

"Charcoal…" The heiress whispered sweetly, "It's time to get to work. Wake up and you'll receive your favorite treats."

"…Meow ma mao?"

"Yes, they're chicken flavored."

"MEW!" Charcoal exclaimed cheerfully, standing straight up and in attention, causing Weiss, Ruby and Yang to laugh at the sight before the heiress gave the little furball a few chicken leg shaped treats, which it accepted gleefully.

"Are you serious?" Blake muttered despairingly.

"It's how Senior teaches his cats. It works, so we can't really argue," Yang explained with a shrug.

"Alright!" Ruby shouted, getting everyone's attention once more. "Now that our final member's a rested and ready to go, it's time to begin! Everyone remember their roles?"

"You and I will head to the CCT to check on the Schnee Records to check on other Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing that I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss stated with a bit of a condescending tone in the end.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. Thankfully, Charcoal still has some of the clothes from one of the soldiers he fought and was able to get a scent from them. If we can get in, I can hopefully find out what they're planning." Blake spoke with a confident tone with Charcoal nodding beside her.

"I have an old friend in the shady side of town that typically knows _everything_ that goes around in Vale. Getting information out of him shouldn't be too hard." Yang said confidently with her arms crossed and a smug grin.

"Great! We'll meet up tonight near Yang to go over what we found!" Ruby exclaimed cheerfully before pumping a fist into the air. "Let's do this!"

"Yeah!" A familiar voice shouted excitedly, causing the girls to blink a little bit towards each other in confusion before turning to the window, where they saw Sun literally hanging out outside their window by his tail, startling them and causing them to move away from the window quickly.

"Sun!?" Blake yelled in surprise.

"How did you get up there?" Yang questioned curiously as Charcoal hopped towards the bookcase near the window.

"Ah, it's easy. I do it all the time!" Sun grinned nonchalantly, his wording catching Weiss's attention and her ire.

"You do _what_?!" The heiress exclaimed, thinking that he had a habit of peeping into girls' room often.

"I climb trees all the time!" The monkey teen clarified, not at all reacting to the girl's scowl, before flipping into the room and began petting the black cat. "So are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

"_We_ are going to investigate the situation… As a _team,_" Blake stressed with a frown and a step forward.

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get friends involved if we don't have to. The only reason why Charcoal's in on this is because he's…well…a cat. He can't really tell anyone outside of Mr. Bo, and he's busy in town at the moment." Ruby apologized with a wince.

"That, and the little guy's a thrill seeker," Yang grinned as she went to pet the cat as well, who was purring from the attention it was getting.

"Psh! That's dumb! We should always get friends involved!" Sun scoffed before pointing towards the window with his thumb. "That's why I brought Neptune!"

The girls stared at their monkey tailed friend blankly, processing what he just said, before they leaned out the window, one on top of the other, and were surprised when they saw the blue haired teen standing on the edge of the wall, cool as can be.

"'Sup?" Neptune greeted.

"How did you even get up here?" Ruby questioned curiously.

"I have my ways…" Neptune stated with an easy grin before looking down nervously, "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like, _really_ high up now."

The girls looked at each other briefly before they all shrugged and proceeded to go inside, dragging Neptune along with them. After a few more minutes of congregating in order to fix up the plan, the new group of seven were now huddled together in a semi-circle with Neptune, Weiss, Yang, Blake and Sun standing in front of Ruby, who had Charcoal casually sitting on her head.

"Alright, I will go with Weiss! Sun, you can go with Blake and Charcoal." Ruby announced before grabbing the blue haired cool guy and pushed him to Yang, with said cool guy giving a wink towards the heiress before stiffening up in nervousness like a board, much to her confusion, "And Neptune, you can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everything good?"

"Works for me, though I'm questioning why we're bringing the black firebrand with us. No offence, buddy." Sun questioned with a sheepish apology towards the black cat staring at him blankly.

"Because he is a stealth trained TGHA who can help us track down the location of the White Fang with ease, Sun." Blake argued with a smirk as Charcoal started to grin like its Cheshire counterpart.

"Ok, point." The monkey teen admitted with a laugh.

"Welp, now that that's out of the way, Neptune and I are gonna head out now over to Relámpagos Repairs to get my ride. Sparky should be there right now tuning it up so I better check to see if he did a good job or not." Yang stated with a grin, which grew a bit wider when she noticed Weiss perk up a bit.

"Ah, why don't I come with you? I need to get Myrtenaster inspected anyway and Relámpagos Repairs is the only business in town that I trust to do it," The heiress requested with a slight blush and barely hidden excitement, something that wasn't lost to Yang and Blake considering their knowing stares. "A-And you know, Baltazar did hit his head earlier today when class was dismissed, so I should also check-"

"Oh he's fine, Weiss. Levy was with him and she's a medic, remember? Besides, you just got your rapier checked yesterday, so no need to get it looked at again." Ruby interrupted perkily, also knowing what her partner really wanted, and proceeded to drag her away and onto their destination, much to her protest and the others' amusement. Especially Yang's.

"C'mon! Let's get going!"

"But…! But…!"

-Later, Beacon Cross Continental Transmit System outdoor entrance-

"Wow… I forget how big the Transmit tower looks up close!" Ruby exclaimed as she and Weiss walked down the steps of the courtyard, the young girl immensely excited to see the large communications tower before them.

"You should see the one in Atlas!" Weiss stated with a small smile and a proud tone.

"That was the first one, right?" Ruby asked as they walked down the stairs.

"Correct," Weiss nodded as the duo drew closer to their destination, "Atlas developed the Cross Continental Transmit System to allow the four kingdoms to communicate with one another. It was their gift to the world after the Great War."

The young rose giggled, amused by how knowledgably her partner was, before adopting a faux high and mighty tone, "_Oooh, look at me! My name's Weiss! I know facts! I'm rich!_"

"Don't be a pest!" Weiss spoke up in annoyance while turning to Ruby with a glare. "Besides, the only reason we're here is because _you_ like the tower so much! We could have just as easily made a call from the library!"

"The library's got nothing on this, Big Sis. It's easy to see why Rubes likes it here so much." A familiar voice spoke up in amusement, and the two turned to see Cody approaching them in his new attire, waving at them with an easy grin on his face.

"Cody! What are you doing here!?" Ruby exclaimed happily as she rushed to hug her best friend, who accepted the glomp and stood his ground as he returned it.

"Had to help Dad and Old Man Ironwood set up for the display that's happening in town later, so I was let out of school early and took the first Bullhead over here. After I was done, I figured I'd come and see you and the others and hang out for a bit, seeing that we haven't hung out during the break." Cody explained as he broke the hug between the pair as Weiss walked up to them.

"Cody, why must you always call General Ironwood by such a demeaning name? He's a respectful man and should be treated as such." The heiress questioned in a chiding tone, to the point of waving her finger at him.

"Eh, I don't really like him and neither does Dad. I always thought he was too serious most of the time, and Dad said he had a tendency to take things too far." The forger shrugged uncaringly, unaffected by his surrogate sister's scolding.

As the two were arguing, Ruby attention was back at the CCT, looking at it in awe. She wanted to take a picture of it, too impressed with the structure to simply have it as a memory. With that in mind, the little reaper dug into her pocket excitedly and pulled out her Scroll. However, she was a bit too enthusiastic with her need to take a photo that she ended up dropping, much to the annoyance of Weiss and amusement of Cody, who saw her actions while talking.

Fearing that it might break or go missing, Ruby decided to go after it, but just before she was about to go, the item landed on the feet of a familiar looking orange haired girl, who picked it up and handed it towards the surprised leader.

"You dropped this." The girl stated, unaware of who she was handing the device to until one of them spoke up.

"Penny!?" Ruby exclaimed in surprise, causing the orange haired girl to become immediately uncomfortable.

"Uh…"

"Holy crap, it is Pen!" Cody exclaimed as well before walking up to her. "Where the heck have you been!? We haven't seen you since the ball!"

"He's right! Why did you disappear like that?" Ruby added in.

"S-Sorry… I think you're confused… *_hic!*_" Penny responded in a very uncomfortable tone, much to the confusion of the two fifteen year olds, and hiccupped hard enough to have the Scroll fly out of her hands and into Ruby's, before starting to leave. "Uh… I got to go!"

"…What was that about?" Weiss questioned the pair as Penny began walking away quickly, much to their confusion.

"I don't know…but we're going to find out," Ruby stated before taking off to follow her friend, with Cody following close by.

"I'll watch over her, Big Sis. We'll see you once we figure out what's up with Pen!" Cody called out towards the heiress as he also began sprinting with Ruby.

"Wait!" Weiss cried with an arm out to them, hoping that they would come back, but it was quickly apparent that the two were not going to return for a while. Realizing that, the girl let out a frustrated sigh before turning towards the communications tower to make the necessary call.

It only took a few quick seconds for the two to reach Penny, who appeared to be quite nervous as she walked down the stairs. The two ended up side by side to her and Ruby quickly decided to ask what was on both their minds by cutting her off in front of her.

"Penny, where have you been!? It's been weeks!" Ruby questioned in an upset tone.

"There seems to be a…misunderstanding." Penny pressed, still feeling quite uncomfortable, before continuing down the stairs, much to Ruby's worry and Cody's annoyance.

"Misunderstanding my butt!" Cody said angrily as he jumped down the steps while Ruby opted to slide down the railing to cut the orange haired girl once more. "Pen, stop already, will ya!? We know there's something wrong with you, we can tell! Let us help out, for crying out loud!"

Penny didn't respond to him, and simply continued on with a blank expression before Ruby cried out to her.

"Penny, please, stop!" The young rose pleaded while grabbing the emerald eyed girl's arm, causing her to focus her attention on her. "Look, we don't know what's wrong, but you _have_ to listen to us!"

"Pen, there's something going on here with you. I know there is. What you did that night at the docks was a pretty big indication. It didn't help that you left shortly after the incident. You know something, and we want you to tell us what it is." Cody stated sternly with a hand on Penny's shoulder, showing his own way of concern towards the orange haired girl.

"Penny… Please tell us what happened to you that night…and the night of the ball…" Ruby pleaded once more, and Penny's eyes went wide when she saw them shimmering, as if she was about to cry. "Come on… We're you're friends…aren't we?"

Penny looked down a little, her expression unreadable to the other two. After a few seconds of thought, she let off a reluctant sigh and turned her head side to side, as if she was scanning the perimeter, before leaning in towards the pair and responded.

"It isn't safe to talk here." She whispered, much to Ruby's confusion. Cody, however, still had a stern expression on his face.

"Then we'll go to town and talk there. I doubt anyone we know will hear us there." The young tiger boy suggested, really hoping to get some answers from his friend.

"Yes, that sounds good. Let us get going," Penny nodded before walking over towards the direction of the aircraft docks. Cody and Ruby shared a look with one another briefly before heading out with their odd friend, hoping that she would be able to answer the many questions they had.

-Beacon CCT Lobby, same time-

Beacon's Cross Continental Transmit lobby was a sight that Weiss would never get tired of seeing. A large glowing room filled with students wishing to use the facility and various elevators leading to where one needs to go. Knowing where she need to be, the heiress wasted no time in heading towards the elevator. Once inside, one of the building's AI operated assistant became active and began speaking to the lone passenger.

[_Hello, welcome to the CCT! How may I help you?_]

"I would like to go to the communications room, please," Weiss responded in a polite tone.

[_Absolutely! Could you please place your Scroll on the terminal to verify your identity?_] The AI requested, as was protocol for anyone wishing to use the facility, and Weiss reached into her back pocket and pulled out the device in question towards the AI's recognition scanner. After a few short seconds, the request was approved, and the AI became active once more. [_Perfect! Thank you Ms. Schnee._]

With that done, Weiss pocketed her Scroll and began practicing various expressions, from pleasant to serious, in order to prepare for what she was going to ask. She knew that her request will raise some questions among her family's company, and she will admit that she was a little nervous about it. However, in order to figure out what the White Fang were planning, she needed to do her part. It wasn't the time to chicken out, she needed to do what needs to be done, both as a Schnee, and a member of team RWBY.

It only took a few seconds for the elevator to reach the communications room, and once the door opened, the heiress was greeted with the sight of various monitors and students talking to whomever they wished to contact. Knowing that she reached her destination, she walked out of the elevator and headed towards the front desk, where a holographic projection of a woman was seen working on something. It didn't take long for the AI to notice her, and once she saw her, she greeted her with a pleasant smile.

[_Welcome to the Beacon Cross Continental Transmit center. How may I help you?_] The AI asked politely.

"I need to make a call to Schnee Company World Headquarters in Atlas," Weiss answered just as politely, with no hint of nervousness in her as she spoke.

[_Absolutely!_] The AI responded before looking down briefly to make the preparations, [_If you could head over to Terminal 3, I'll patch you through._]

"Thank you!" Weiss said cheerfully with a small nod before heading over to the terminal in question. As she walked she could see many other students having conversations to the screens. Some of them even sharing a screen in order to talk to whoever was on the other side. One fellow student's call that Weiss overheard brought a small smile in her hear: A call to one's mother.

'_I have to talk to Mom myself once this is all over. It's been a while since we've spoke…even if we've already seen each other a few weeks ago…_' Weiss thought as she sat down at the terminal she needed to be at. Once seated, though, she let off a small sigh and frowned a little at what she was about to do. She really wasn't all that happy with the call, especially since there was a chance that she might have to talk to her father. Before she could dwell on those thoughts, however, the screen became active, and an orange haired woman could be seen on it, someone that Weiss was quite familiar with.

[_Thank you for calling the Atlas-Oh!_] The operator said in a surprise tone, once she noticed who she was speaking to. [_Miss Schnee, good afternoon! I've heard that you've recently met up with your old best friend from Forjador and that the two of you are together now! How are things going with you two?]_

"Oh things are going quite well. Thank you for asking!" Weiss answered in a genuinely happy tone. She wasn't expecting her relationship with the lightning ninja to be known by members of her family's staff so soon, but she wasn't bothered by it. She enjoyed letting others know that she was taken by her best friend.

[_Wonderful! I always hoped you two would get together. You always looked the happiest whenever you were with him!_] The operator gushed slightly, causing Weiss to giggle a little at her actions, before the woman calmed down a little. [_So, Miss Schnee, how can I help you? Would you like me to patch you to your father? I believe your sister Winter might be here as well_.]

"No, thank you!" Weiss answered in false pleasantness, her genuine feelings gone once the question was asked, "I was actually wondering if you could find some files for me. I've compiled a short list."

With that, the young heiress pulled out her Scroll once more and placed it in a slot by the keyboard, where the data in it was being quickly transferred to the operator, who quirked an eyebrow slightly once she saw what was requested.

[_I see…_] She said after going over the list before turning back to Weiss, [_If you don't mind…what may I ask is this for?_]

"School project," Weiss answered easily, fully expecting such a question to be asked.

[_Um… There are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am…_] The operator stated nervously, afraid that she might get in trouble for doing what the young heiress was requesting.

"Well then, I'll be sure to treat them with care," Weiss assured, though the woman still seemed unsure.

[_I… I'm sorry, Miss Schnee, but-_]

"Oh relax, Momoka. Snowpea here will take care of the docs. I'll see to it myself, so take it easy, will you?" A confident sounding female voice spoke up, and both the heiress and operator jumped slightly at the sound of it. The heiress turned around, and was surprised by who was behind her.

"Rita? What are you doing here?" Weiss questioned, wondering why the woman was at the CCT of all places.

"Wanted to say hi to my folks and siblings with Lala, so I got her to bring me here, seeing that my Scroll doesn't have authorization for _this_ CCT, unlike the original one back at Atlas. This place is puny compared to there," Rita joked with a small grin while pointing behind her, where Weiss could see Levy happily chatting away to a monitor, most likely to her parents and sisters.

[_Lala? Are you taking about your youngest sister Lavanda? I remember that was the nickname you gave her whenever we talked. I didn't know she is attending Beacon with Miss Schnee._] The operator said in surprised tone.

"Oh yeah, and these two have been hanging out a lot since the school year started and had to do a lot of projects together, despite being in different teams. Heck, the documents Snowpea here is asking is a part of another project with her, so be a dear and give them to her. They asked for my help with it too, so I'll make sure they're taken care of," Rita assured with a smirk, and Weiss had a very hard time keeping the surprise she was feeling to show.

Out of all the things that could've happened, never did she thought that Rita of all people was actually helping her obtaining secured documents from her family's company. She glanced at the woman beside her, and she, in turn, gave the girl a discrete wink, indicating what she already knew; that she was helping her out. The heiress couldn't help but smile after that, and turned to the operator to confirm her aid's words.

"There you go. With Rita watching over our project, you have nothing to worry about. The documents will be safe and sound, so if you don't mind sending them over, we can finish our task much faster." Weiss said with her smile still on her face.

[_Right... Very well._ _The data is being transferred to your Scroll now._] The woman said, still slightly nervous, as she sent the requested information to Weiss's Scroll.

"Wonderful! That will be all then!" Weiss stated, happy that this part of the plan was done, until the operator decided to speak one more time.

[_Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go? Or you, Rosarita?_] She asked once more, causing the heiress to frown slightly before forcing herself to smile, which was missed by the operator, but not the professor.

"Yes, I'm sure." Weiss assured, hoping to end the call there.

"Nah, I don't need to talk to Mr. Schnee. If I do, then he will want to talk about work, and I don't want to have another two hour long discussion on Dust… Despite how tempting that is," Rita said dismissively, her voice trembling a little at the temptation of a long discussion on her favorite subject, which caused Weiss to stare at her oddly for a moment before turning back to the monitor with a smile.

[_Well then, have a nice day!_] The operator said cheerfully before logging out, allowing Weiss to let go of her cheerful façade and drop her head slight with a frown, unaware of the pitying look she was getting from Rita. Thanks to the operator, her head was now filled with memories of her father, of how kind and happy he was in the past, and how he slowly became more distant over time, focusing on his company more than his family at times. She knew of his duties, and the various tough decisions that he had to make in order to make the company thrive to how it was, but it still didn't make her feel any better, knowing what her father allowed in their family business.

"It's like Mr. Morado used to say; 'The ends don't justify the means'… That is especially true in father's case…" Weiss muttered to herself.

"That's Buelo's saying… Yeah, can't argue with that. Your dad's done a few…unsavory things to keep the company going. I don't know how much of it was actually _his_ doing, but I'm sure that he's ashamed of some of the decisions he had to make," Rita said in a tone she hoped was of comfort as she awkwardly placed a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. She wasn't much of a comforter, her family could attest to that, but she could at least try to help out her baby sister's best friend, if only a little.

And speaking of her baby sister…

"Weiss? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice spoke up, causing the heiress to jump slightly, startled by the sudden voice, and fall over to her back with a loud thud, bumping her head on the floor in the process.

"Bwahahaha! Nice fall there, Snowpea! What happened to that cool, elegant stature you always had?! Hahaha!" Rita laughed hysterically at the action, getting the attention of the others in the room, but was completely oblivious to the incredulous stares.

"Ow… Now I know how Baltazar felt this afternoon…" Weiss groaned while trying desperately to ignore the eccentric woman's laughter as she slowly got up and rubbed her head, only to feel a gentle hand pressing it and a familiar soothing feeling flowing through her.

"Weiss, I'm sorry for scaring you. I swear it wasn't my intention to-"

"Levy, its fine. Don't worry about it," Weiss sighed, knowing exactly who she was talking to without even needing to turn around. She knew that the young medic was the only one around here capable of healing others in this manner. Once the treatment was done, Weiss stood up and turned around to properly see her, and smiled a little at the clothes she was wearing.

"Oh? You're wearing the outfit that I bought for you during break! I knew you liked it!" Weiss said in a happy tone, her mood lifting at the sight of Levy in a new outfit.

"So _you're _the one who got her the new clothes. Gotta admit, they look good. I should've guessed it was you. You always did have a good taste in fashion." Rita praised after she quelled her laughter while looking at her little sister in pride.

"Thanks, you two… I wasn't sure about this outfit originally, but it kind of grew on me. I've been told I look very mature in this," Levy stated in a grateful tone as Weiss looked over her outfit.

Instead of the jacket and blouse combo that was typically worn, Levy was now sporting a lavender colored pea coat with a waist belt, her crescent and wave emblem on her back akin to Weiss's emblem in a dark purple color and silver ring buttons, four slits on all sides on the bottom of her coat, giving it the appearance of a dress, a pair of long black stockings and a pair of lavender heels. She was even sporting a new pair of crown shaped bracelets with her emblem etched into them and her gunblade holsters attached to her belt. All in all, the medic looked quite elegant in Weiss's eyes, and she knew that she got the perfect outfit for her the moment she saw it.

"Yeah, you do. You kind of remind me of a librarian or secretary in that outfit. Especially if you wear your reading glasses. I don't know where you got those new bracelets though, but they look good with your outfit." Weiss stated in approval with a hand on her hip and a nod.

"Oh, thanks. Rita made them for me recently as a gift and I hardly took them off since I acquired them," Levy mused softly with a happy glance at her sister before focusing on her friend curiously. "By the way, you never answered my question. What are you doing here?"

"Just gathering some information from my family's company for a school project. Nothing more," Weiss shrugged, going with the same lie she used at the terminal. She felt bad for lying to the kind hearted medic, but it was no secret that the girl couldn't hold a secret to save her life. The slip up last week involving Blake was evidence enough of that.

"I understand. I wish I could say the same thing, but I was spending a lot of time talking to my family back home with Rita for a while. They really missed her and I guess I kinda got caught up in their conversation." Levy admitted with a sheepish giggle and a light blush of embarrassment, and Weiss had to smile softly at her innocent demeanor.

"She got really into talking to the folks when our older brother Otto showed up to talk. That dusty archeologist of ours decided to pop in and she hadn't left her seat until now, especially when he brought in his twin girls. They've grown since I last saw them." Rita explained with a grin when Levy started to look elated suddenly.

"Oh my God, they did, and they're just the _cutest things_!" The medic practically squealed, read gushing, as she recalled her nieces, much to the amusement of Weiss and Rita. "Oh you have to see them, Weiss! Haizea and Hilargi are so adorable, you wouldn't believe it. And Lucia is looking much healthier now too! I think she's finally overcoming her sickness! And big brother Otoño was so happy about it as well! Please, Weiss, come and see them!"

Weiss couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed at the request. Sure she liked Levy and her family a lot, but Levy was coming a little strong in her love for them. She wasn't surprised though. The medic was always excited to see her family and loved spending time with her nieces and showing them off to whomever would listen. It was kind of endearing, she had to admit, and normally she wouldn't mind going to see them. However, she had a mission she needed to accomplish. Even though she finished her main task, she still needed to meet up with the others to compare their findings. She couldn't afford to waste any more time in a place where she didn't needed to-

"Oh don't worry, Lala. Snowpea here was just about to go see them. You know how much she likes the twins. And if you convince mom to bring Scar to the monitor, then she won't be going anywhere for a while," Rita assured while giving her sister a big grin as Weiss looked up to her in a mix of shock and betrayal, before staring straight into her eyes, and right then did the heiress get the message she was sending.

_Just go with it. She wants to spend time with you and something like this is a good stress reliever for what you just had to do. Plus, you can't say no to her when she's like this. No one can…_

'…_I hate it when she's right. Even when she doesn't say anything,_' Weiss mentally grumbled, knowing full well what she had to do now.

"Of course I'm coming along. I'm not meeting the others until later, so I got some time to spend with you. Just be sure to have your mother bring that adorable dog of yours too. I didn't get a chance to see him while we were at Forjador a few months back." Weiss agreed happily, feeling a little better when Levy practically beamed in response and missing Rita's snicker until she began to comment.

"Yeah, I'm sure you were occupied with something _very_ time-consuming to prevent you from seeing your favorite pet." The woman teased with a mischievous grin, knowing full well what had transpired over at Forjador during Beacon's trip there thanks to her relatives.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about!" Weiss denied the, admittedly accurate, accusation with a heavy blush while Levy began giggling at her reaction.

With that, the Morado sisters began walking back to their monitor while the heiress followed closely behind, trying to control her blush and her mind wandering towards how her teammates were doing.

'_I hope the others aren't being forcibly distracted like I am…even though I already finished my task. So long as there aren't any more hiccups today, our plan should still go well…_

_Speaking of hiccups… What's taking Ruby so long? What could she be doing with Penny and Cody that could be taking her so much time?_'

-Later, Streets of Vale-

It has been some time since Penny left with Ruby and Cody to town and currently the girl was standing near a café, looking back and forth nervously, as if afraid someone was going to pop up and take her. She was so nervous that she didn't even know that her friends were near her until she felt someone touch her shoulder. Jumping in surprise, the orange haired girl turned around somewhat fearfully before relaxing a little at the sight of Ruby smiling reassuringly with Cody behind her with an amused expression. Slightly calm now, Penny gave off a small smile herself before the trio started strolling down the street and continued their discussion.

"I wish I could help you, Ruby, Cody, but I don't know anything about those men…" Penny stated in an apologetic tone.

"Then what happened to you that night? We were all together, and then you disappeared. Then you came back for the Hunter's Fair, only to vanish again not long after the dance. Were you kidnapped or something?" Ruby couldn't help but ask, unaware of her male friend groaning slightly at her question.

"Oh no! Nothing like that!" The eccentric girl exclaimed, surprised that the reaper had jumped to such a conclusion.

"See Rubes? I told you she wasn't kidnapped, but did you believe me? Nope!" Cody grumbled in an annoyed tone, smirking a little at Ruby's glare, before turning to Penny with a more serious expression. "So what _did_ happen to you back then? Where'd you go?"

"I've never been to another kingdom before," Penny confessed, now looking a little ashamed, "My father asked me not to venture out too far, but… You have to understand, my father loves me very much. He just worries a lot."

"Believe me, I know the feeling," Ruby said in sympathy, well aware of what her new friend might be going through due to her own experience.

"Eh… I guess I know what you're going through too, Pen, but probably in a different way," Cody admitted in a sheepish tone, recalling all the difficult training exercises he and his brother went through with their father to ensure their safety before focusing on the orange haired girl once more. "But how come you didn't tell us you were ok when you met up with us again in town a few weeks ago? Heck, you didn't even say anything about your disappearance at all since you returned and then you up and left us again until now. What's up with that?"

"I…was ask not to talk to either of you. Or Weiss. Or Blake. Or Yang. Anyone, really. The only exception was during the Hunter's Fair, when there would be a lot of commotion going on and everyone focusing on various events, but after that, I wasn't allowed to be near you or the others anymore," Penny explained in a reluctant tone, showing that she didn't want to do what she was requested to do.

"Was your dad that upset?" Ruby questioned, unaware of Cody's curious expression as they grew closer to the corner of the street.

"No. It wasn't my father…"

"Huh? It's started already? I figured it wouldn't happen for another hour. Guess I was wrong." Cody mused out loud, catching the attention of the girls behind him.

"Cody, what are you talking abou…" Ruby questioned before trailing off at the sight of various people gathering around a platform made on a nearby plaza. On the platform stood the holographic image of General Ironwood and, oddly enough, Bo, making some sort of announcement, with a small group of robots that both Cody and Ruby recognized as the same ones that were used at part of the security system of Azure Armory Incorporated before the incident at the All Founder's Festival took place. The robots were standing in front of large metal containers as well, and before Ruby could try and figure out what were in them, she and the others began hearing the copy speak loudly.

[_The AK-130 has been a standard security model of Remnant for several years, and they have done a fine job. Wouldn't you agree-Wouldn't you agree?_] The holographic image questioned the guests, its voice skipping a little towards the end, as the crowd applauded while the androids gave a small bow to everyone, before continuing. [_But... the kingdom of Atlas is a kingdom of innovation, and 'fine'... Well, that's just not good enough, is it?_]

[_Got that right, General. Why don't you show these fine people what you've been hiding for the past few years?_] The image of Cody's father requested with his typical grin, a perfect copy of the original.

[_Gladly, old friend._]

When those words left the copy's mouth, the containers began to open revealing another group of robots hidden inside them. Unlike their counterparts on stage, the new ones looked much bulkier and shinier, and much less intimidating than the apparently older models before them.

[_Presenting...the Atlesian Knight-200!_] The images announced, causing the audience to clap while the new robots kicked their older counterparts to the ground, showing off their vast superiority to the very impressed crowd.

"Huh… So that's what they look like. Gotta say, those things look much better than the 130 models. I wonder if Ray or Rita helped designed them?" Cody mused to himself while Ruby simply stared at the new robots with an awestruck expression, neither one of them noticing Penny looking quite uncomfortable at their position.

[_Impressive, aren't they? Much better than their predecessors, eh everyone?_] Pseudo-Bo questioned, making the audience murmur to each other in agreement.

[_Smarter. Sleeker. And admittedly, a little less scary._] The Ironwood copy said with a touch of humor as some of the robots began showing off through various flexes and poses, before continuing. [_These models will become active later this year, but they won't be alone! Now, the Atlesian Military has always supported the idea of removing men from the dangers of the battlefield. However, there are still many situations that will undoubtedly require...a human touch._]

"Oh, now this I've got to see." Cody grinned before turning to the still awed Ruby. "Get ready, Rubes, because we're about to see something really cool in a bit."

Ruby didn't say anything, but nodded slightly, which was the only thing the young forger needed to see to know how much she was into the display, before turning his attention back to the plaza. The two of them, however, still had yet to notice their new friend's uncomfortable and increasingly nervous behavior, even after voicing out to them.

"Ruby…? Cody…?"

[_So, our kingdom's greatest minds, in cooperation with the Schnee Dust Company and with some help with Vale's very own Azure Armory Incorporated, are proud to introduce...the Atlesian Paladin!_]

[_Bring out the steel warrior!_]

With that announcements, the holographic pair vanished from the stage, only to be replaced by a very large mechanical behemoth that stood about twice as big as the robots on stage, sporting various features including piston hinged legs, a large rectangular head, and the most important feature; a pair of powerful looking guns for hands. The crowd was very pleased to see such a thing, even if it was just a projection, and began to clap loudly at its impressive design.

[_Quite the beast that Ironwood and our companies developed, isn't it? With this thing patrolling the land along with the local huntsmen and law enforcement, the world of Remnant will become a much safer place for all._] Bo's voice echoed with a hint of pride in it.

[_Now, we couldn't have him here for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be seen defending the borders of our kingdom within the year!_] Ironwood's voice stated, finishing up the presentation, and everyone began to clap even harder, knowing that they will soon be protected by such powerful looking machines in the very near future.

"Ho-ho-holy crap, that thing is awesome! Much better than those old designs that I dug up last month! Old Man Ironwood, you really know how to design a kickass robot!" Cody exclaimed in an impressed tone while clapping his hands with the crowd and laughing.

"Whoa…" Ruby muttered in awe, her eyes star struck and pose slumped due to how impressed she was at the showing. However, Penny was becoming increasingly nervous now, realizing that the display was over, and was now desperately trying to get her friends' attention.

"Ruby? Cody? Maybe we should go somewhere else…" Penny requested, hoping that the two heard her, but sadly her plea was ignored once more. Upset, she was about to try one more time until she noticed a couple of Atlas Soldiers noticing the trio, her specifically, and grew scared when she noticed one of them talking to his helmet, no doubt calling for backup. Knowing that they saw her, the frightened girl had no other choice but to go on a dead run, leaving both of her friends behind and confused.

"Penny?" Ruby questioned, breaking out of her weapon induced stupor as she notices the orange haired girl sprinting off. "Penny, wait! Where are you going!?"

"Away from them, if my guess is right," Cody spoke up as he pointed at the two soldiers that were now heading right for them.

Realizing that they were after their friend, both young teens turned to each other and nodded before rushing towards Penny themselves in order to figure out what was going on. The pair were following her on a winding alley, weaving through various trash bags and trash cans in order to catch up with her. Behind them were the soldiers, and Cody heard one of them speaking, indicating that they were close. Hoping to by some time, the young man brought out the folded rifle-sword on his back and snapped it together and began picking up speed. As he and Ruby crossed the road, he fired at the ground a few times, creating various holes in the process, before refolding it and placing it back on his back. The soldiers saw what he did and were unsure why he did it, but it became apparent when they began crossing the road themselves.

As soon as they stepped on the road, a car came rushing over and would have ran over one of the men if the holes didn't slow it down. Gripping the hood of the honking car, the man paused for a while to catch his breath while his partner went off to continue the chase.

Back to the young ones, Cody managed to catch back up to Ruby, but both were still quite far from Penny, who was turning the corner at a large pile of crates that were suspended by a flimsy looking platform. Not wasting time, Ruby brought out her rifle-scythe and slashed the bottom support, causing the crates to fall in an avalanche and blocking off the path for the soldiers to go after them. Seeing Penny right in front of them, Ruby turned to Cody with pleading eyes, hoping he knew what she was silently asking. She received a nod in response, and with a smile the girl grabbed his hand tightly before the two jumped onto a nearby wall and ricochet off of it, allowing Ruby to grab Penny by the waist, much to the surprise of the orange haired girl. Cody let go of his grip on Ruby just before she caught her, but immediately grabbed on to her cloak, knowing what was going to happen.

"This way!" Ruby shouted with a grimace, already fearing the backlash of what she was about to do, and before she could get a response, the three of them disappeared in a flash of red and rose petals.

The three of them were moving fast, causing the various amounts of garbage in the ally to be blown away by the incoming force. Ruby kept at it for as long as she could, but despite her skill, even she wasn't able to keep up her semblance while having two passengers on her, and after only a few seconds, the three of them fell onto the ground, all of them tumbling in various distances, with Ruby and Cody going the farthest due to their small statures and light weight, and ended up on the road, with Ruby lying on her back and Cody on top of her. Penny, on the other hand, didn't seemed to move from the impromptu drop sight, and was laying on her stomach on the same spot that the trio first crashed.

Cody was among the first to recover, rising to a kneeling position and grabbed his arm gingerly while Ruby followed soon after, picking herself up slightly and rubbing her head a little in pain. They only had a brief second to get her heads straight when they heard the sounds of horns blaring, and turned around in fear when they saw a large truck heading right for her. The young girl was stunned, unable to move due to shock, while the young man immediately grabbed her with one arm and struck the other one out, both his eyes and hand glowing brightly, in hopes of stopping the vehicle with his semblance. He felt the connection between him and the truck, but grimaced when he realized too late that it was moving too fast for him to stop it. It seemed like it was over for the pair until they felt someone push them out of the road and into the sidewalk.

Grunting a little at the force, Cody wondered who pushed them to safety for a brief moment before he looked down at Ruby, hoping she was ok, but frowned when he saw the look of horror on her face. Focusing on the direction she was facing, he let off a horrified gasp as he saw Penny still on the road, realizing that she was the one who saved them, with her arms up as if she was about to try and stop the truck with her bare hands. The pair was about to call her name in fear when something completely unexpected happen.

The truck crashed into Penny, but instead of flattening her, it ended up jousting into the air for a short while, with the young girl barely moving at all from the impact, before coming down hard, but intact. The force from the crash was so great that the asphalt actually shattered, with bits of the road flying out into the sidewalks. The truck looked relatively fine, if a little crushed in the front, but Penny looked perfectly ok, as if the crash didn't even faze her. Ruby stared at the girl in fear and awe, wondering what was going on, while Cody had a sharp gaze on his face.

"That wasn't her semblance. I didn't even sense her aura flaring to be something like that. She stopped that truck on her own without barely even budging. Pen…how did you do that…?" Cody questioned as the pair got up, but neither of them dared to let go of each other; the fear of Ruby nearly getting struck by a truck and Penny's superhuman actions still fresh in their heads.

"Penny?" Ruby whimpered, clutching to Cody even tighter as she tried desperately to figure out how the girl on the road could perform such a feat.

"Are you ok?" Penny asked worriedly to the driver of the truck, who was actually the shopkeep of the local From Dust Till Dawn making a delivery before disaster struck and simultaneously averted.

"Uh-huh…" The man said, trembling like a leaf, but still very grateful towards the young lady who saved her. It actually reminded him of another girl who helped him out many months ago… The same girl who he nearly ran over just a little bit ago! '_Oh dear, I better give her a huge discount next time she comes into my shop or restaurant. Hopefully she can forgive me for what I nearly did…_'

Nodding to herself for her accomplishment, Penny stepped back from the truck and turned to Ruby, hoping Cody had managed to save her in time, but grew fearful at her frightened expression, and grew even more so once she saw Cody's analytical electric blue gaze. It was if he was trying to figure out _what_ she was. Then, a few seconds later, more bystanders started showing up, murmuring to themselves about what just happened and how a little girl was able to do such a thing. Now practically fearing for her life, the orange haired girl began sprinting off once more, bumping into the rose and tiger pair and inadvertently splitting them up, much to their confusion.

"Penny! Come back!" Ruby cried out before rushing out herself to try and catch her friend. Cody was just about to follow him when he noticed the two soldiers that were chasing them arrive at the scene, looking a little lost and, oddly enough, not surprised by what they were seeing. He frowned, realizing there was much, _much_ more to his strange friend than meets the eye, and proceeded to rush into the alley where Ruby and Penny went into. It didn't take too long to find them, thankfully. They were just around the corner, with the frantic girl looking around to try and find a new path to escape while the more exasperated one having just caught up to her, more than ready to get to the bottom of this whole mess.

"Penny! Please! What is going on?! Why are you running? How did you _do_ that?!" Ruby explained while gesturing to the alley that led to the near deadly accident.

"I can't… Everything's fine! *_hic*_ I-I don't want to talk about it! *_hic*_" Penny protested nervously, hiccupping more and more the more she spoke, allowing Cody to pick a pattern from her speech.

"You hiccup when you lie." Cody stated knowingly, causing Ruby to gasp and Penny to look at him in shock. "The signs are all there. You know how you stopped the truck from crushing us without calling upon your semblance or aura. You know why the men are chasing you. You know what's going on Pen, so stop beating around the bush and tell us already!"

"He's right, Penny! We can help you, I know we can! Just tell us what's wrong!" Ruby assured, truly wanting to help out in whatever situation her friend was in.

"No! No, no! You wouldn't understand!" Penny continued to protest, go so far as to look away from the pair in order to not speak to them.

"Then make us understand, Penny. If you're really our friend, then you have to take the plunge and tell us what's going on." Cody said sternly as he walked up to the frantic girl, shocking her by his words, and allowing Ruby to get close to her with pleading eyes.

"Penny, please. You have to trust us. It's what friends do…" Ruby begged, now standing right beside her best friend and not wanting anyone to suffer anymore.

Penny stared at the pair, truly surprised and touched by how much they were willing to stay her friend despite all that happened today. She honestly thought that the two would leave her if they ever figure out what she was hiding, but the two were willing to stick with her, and were even willing to help her out, just because she was their friend. Desperate, the girl moved close to them with her hands clenched into fists and began shaking, much to their surprise.

"You two are my friends, right!? You promise you're my friends!?" The girl begged with fearful eyes, and the pair now knew that what they were about to hear was important, and they needed to assure her that they were not going to leave her.

"We promise…" Ruby said firmly and softly, her voice full of conviction while glancing at Cody, knowing full well that he was ok with her speaking for him if the small smile on his face was any indication.

"We're friends, Pen. And friends stick together 'till the end." Cody assured with a nod, giving the girl a reassuring smile to know that they were not going to abandon her.

That was all she needed to hear, because as soon as the words left their mouths, Penny unclenched her fists. The two were expecting her to have some sort of damage to them. Both of them knew for certain that stopping an incoming truck with their bare hands, no matter how impressive it is, was bound to leave some marks. However, instead of open skin and blood, the pair was greeted by the sight that neither of them were expecting to see.

Penny's skin was torn, yes, but beneath it wasn't flesh. It was metal. The girl looked up to her friends nervously, and finally told the secret that she kept from them the moment they first befriended each other.

"I'm not a real girl…"

The pair only had one thing to say to that…

"Oh…"

Author's Note:

Here's the revised chapter 5, guys. Much shorter than the original version since I ended up removing a scene from it. Oddly enough, what I've written here was pretty close to the first rendition of the chapter, before I decided to make Second Verse. To be honest…I'm kinda glad I went back to this route. A little different from how I've originally did it, but it works, and I'm satisfied with what I've written.

Now, to answer a couple PMs that I got regarding this story: I will not be bringing in the rest of Levy's family in this story. There's already a lot of things happening in such a short timeframe that I wouldn't be able to make an arc regarding her and her family. It was one of the reasons why I started Second Verse in the first place, and look how that turned out. I will be fleshing out the other characters soon in the next arc, which will be vastly different from how it started in Second Verse, but until then, just be patient.

For the other PM: There will be Ruby-centric parts in the future, the last chapter for this story especially, so don't worry. You'll get your chance soon. Also, Winter and Qrow already made brief cameos in my other works; Winter in my first story and Qrow in my oneshot collection, Life at Beacon. When Volume 3 rolls around, I will be watching it intensely so that I can incorporate what I've learned in it in my works. I already got a few ideas thanks to the Vytal Festival short that Rooster Teeth gave us a few days ago.

Now, the next chapter for this story will show up later this month. Probably not until the end of it, but we'll see. I have a bit of a surprise coming with the update, so look forward to it, you guys. However, to compensate, I will have an update for Life at Beacon coming your way very soon. As always, you guys, thank you all so much for reading my work and I will see you all soon.


	6. After-Hour Escapades

Happy Halloween, guys! Black Fuego here with the 6th chapter of Scattered Symphony just in time for the spookiest night of the year! The chapter itself isn't as spooky, but it is action pact due to it being my revision of my version of RWBY volume 2's Painting the Town. This variation is quite different than its predecessor, but some aspects of it still remained the same. This chapter also adds a bit of proper character background compared to the last one, and a few extra things that, personally, helped make this chapter work. Honestly, I like this version of the chapter more than the original, much less dark and depressing, but still having an element of seriousness that I was hoping to bring up in the previous rendition, yet complemented by some humor to make it enjoyable. Well, I guess I shouldn't keep you all waiting. Enjoy the chapter, guys, and I will see you in the author's notes!

Disclaimer: I don't own the RWBY series nor any other series that may be mentioned in this fic. I did, however saw the first episode of RWBY volume 3 and it was _very _action packed so far. I can't wait to get into it myself once I'm done with this story.

The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR: Scattered Symphony

Chapter 6: After-Hour Escapades

Ruby was shocked…completely speechless by what she had just learned about her friend. Penny, the quirky little orange haired huntress in training that helped her friends take out a ton of White Fang soldiers many weeks ago and saved her and Cody's lives only minutes ago from an incoming truck, wasn't human. At least not entirely. She looked and acted completely human, but her hands had gleaming metal underneath the torn skin that she obtained from stopping the truck that nearly ran them over with her bare hands. She stared in silence, still taking in the revelation of the girl in front of her, who was now looking quite nervous and afraid of their response.

Cody however, despite being equally as shocked, was not one to be silent for very long, and ended up being the first to break the uncomfortable tension with a little quip to himself.

"Huh… Pen's a cyborg. That explains a lot, actually…" Cody mused out loud with a curious expression, causing Penny to turn to him and tilt her head slightly in confusion while Ruby snapped out of her surprised stupor, but still had her head a little jumbled from the revelation.

"Penny…I-I don't understand…" The flustered girl started, but trailed off, still unsure of what to say.

"Most girls are born…but I was made. I'm the first synthetic person capable of generating aura!" Penny explained, her tone and expression proud briefly before turning to her metal hands in sadness. "I'm not real…"

"Of course you're real!" Ruby exclaimed while gently grabbing her friend's hands, "You think just because you have nuts and bolts instead of squishy guts makes you any less real than me?"

"Rubes is right, Pen," Cody assured while placing a hand on Penny's shoulder and smiled gently, "So what if you're an android? That doesn't mean anything to us. You're our friend, and you're as real as they come…"

Cody's words made Penny look at him oddly, very stunned by his proclamation and his dedication to being her friend while it was Ruby's turn to be confused.

"…Wait, android? I thought you said Penny was a cyborg? Is there a difference between that and an android?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Androids are robots that are designed to look like humans to a degree. The Atlesian Knights are a good example of that. Cyborgs on the other hand, are humans with cybernetic enhancements to their bodies, like arms and legs. Cyborgs having aura isn't that hard to believe, but androids…? Whoever made Penny had to be a real genius to pull that off," Cody stated with a reassuring grin at the orange haired android, who had her eyes wide in surprise, while Ruby began nodding in understanding.

"Ah, I see. I guess that makes your dad a cyborg then, since he has a robotic eye," The young leader guessed.

"Eh… Not exactly, Rubes. Typically people need to have a lot of cybernetic enhancements to their bodies to be considered a cyborg. Just having a bionic eye or limb isn't enough to make someone a cyborg." Cody denied while shaking his head, causing Ruby to let off a small whine at her incorrect guess.

Penny, however, was surprised to see the two of them not being disturbed by the fact that she wasn't human. In fact, they looked impressed, something that she truly wasn't expecting. She would've thought that people would immediately shun her if they learned what she was, but these two teens were breaking her expectations in ways she wasn't able to conceive, and couldn't tear her eyes away as the two continued with their discussion on the differences between androids and cyborgs of all things.

"So you're saying that in order for someone to be considered a cyborg, they need to have at least most of their body to be robotic, but enough guts and stuff to still be considered human, am I right?" Ruby questioned, hoping that she got what was being explained to her.

"Pretty much. There's a lot more to it than that, such as the ratio between flesh and machine, the ability to generate aura, the ethics and the morality of the practice…all that stuff, but you got the gist of it. But to see an android of all things capable of being a human to the point of having an aura…? Man. I didn't think it was possible, but we got proof right here in front of us." Cody said with a smile while gesturing to the surprised Penny, while Ruby nodded in agreement.

"Yup. Penny's pretty awesome. Can't deny that," Ruby smiled perkily, making Penny both very happy and very confused.

"Um… You guys are taking this _extraordinarily_ well…" Penny finally said after a while, her confusion laced in her voice and catching the attention of her friends.

"Eh, I've seen odder things growing up Pen. Heck, my brother's a bit of an oddity himself, so it's no big deal. I got no issues being friends with a kickass robot huntress," Cody grinned widely with, making the robot girl's eyes go wide.

"You're not like those things we saw back there," Ruby assured, recalling the new robots that Ironwood introduced earlier, before gently poking her friend's chest with a smile, "You got a heart, and a soul. I can feel it."

"Oh…" Penny muttered, truly touched by what her friends think of her, before grabbing them and brought them together in a tight hug, much to their discomfort, "Oh Ruby, Cody! You two are the best friends anyone could have!"

"Ugh! I can see why your father would want to protect such a delicate flower!" Ruby groaned, her lungs being crushes due to the tight hug she was receiving.

"You call _this_ delicate?!" Cody hissed, now starting to look a little blue from the overly enthusiastic embrace.

"Oh he's _very_ sweet. My father's the one who built me! I'm sure you two would love him!" Penny exclaimed in pride as she let go of her friends, much to their relief.

"Wow… He made you all by himself?" Ruby asked cheerfully, giggling at the girl's exuberance.

"Well, almost! He had some help with Mr. Ironwood," Penny confessed sheepishly, surprising Ruby and causing Cody to nod contemplatively.

"Ah. Old Man Ironwood. That explains why his soldiers where after you, eh Pen?" Cody questioned for confirmation, and wasn't disappointed by her answer.

"They like to protect me too!" Penny explained cheerfully once more, this time putting both Ruby and Cody in a state of confusion and causing the two of them to look at each other briefly.

"Psh. They don't think you can protect yourself?" The young reaper scoffed with a quirked eyebrow.

"I sincerely doubt that a robot girl capable of pulling over a dozen swords out of her backpack and shoot lasers so powerful they could cut bullheads in half needs protection," Cody nodded with his arms crossed and eyes closed.

"They're not sure I'm ready yet…" Penny confessed, now sporting a look of resolve that the pair haven't seen since the day at the docks, "One day, it will be my job to save the world, but I still have a lot left to learn. That's why my father let me come to the Vytal Festival. I want to see what it's like in the rest of the world, and test myself in the Tournament."

Cody nodded in approval, understanding her reasoning for coming to Vale for the festival. Ruby, however, caught something from Penny's statement that started to bother her, and couldn't help but ask about it, hoping that she would get some clarification.

"Penny, what are you taking about? Save the world from what? We're in a time of peace!" Ruby stated, confusing Penny and causing Cody to narrow his eyes, his irises flashing blue and pupils narrowing to slits as certain thoughts began running through his head.

"That's not what Mr. Ironwood said…" Penny muttered, unsure of what Ruby was stating.

"So Ironwood thinks that there's trouble going on in the world too… No wonder he went to talk to Dad a few days ago…" Cody mumbled to himself, unaware of Ruby and Penny's surprised expressions, before turning to the android girl with a serious expression. "Pen, do you mind telling us what Ironwood told you? What exactly is the world in danger-"

"Check down here!"

The trio jumped at the sound of the voice, and all of them became nervous when they realized that the Atlesian soldiers had managed to catch up to them. They spent so much time talking that they had forgotten that they were still on the run. Not wasting any time, Penny turned to Ruby and Cody and grabbed their shoulders.

"You have to hide!" The girl stated before easily lifting them off their feet and onto her shoulders, much to their embarrassment.

"I feel kinda emasculated right now…" Cody muttered in a snarky tone, not really putting up a fight and allowing Penny to hide him, while Ruby began struggling and flailing wildly.

"Penny, wait! What are you doing!? You don't have to go with them! We can help you!" The young rose cried out, hoping that the deceptively strong girl would listen, but unfortunately, her pleas were unfulfilled as both she and Cody were tossed unceremoniously in a nearby dumpster.

"I really hope there isn't any dirty diapers and expired milk in here…" Cody grumbled as he took in the new environment he was forced into while Ruby looked at Penny pleadingly, who was staring back apologetically while holding the lid to the dumpster slightly.

"It's ok, Ruby, Cody. They're not bad people. I just don't want you two to get in trouble." The android assured before staring at the pair with a grave expression, "Just _promise _me you won't tell anyone else my secret. Ok?"

"We promise," Both Ruby and Cody answered immediately with solemn nods before ducking down and allowing Penny to close the dumpster. Once closed, the two were able to hear an officer stating that they had found their friend. Hoping that Penny's words were true, they slowly lifted the lids of the dumpster just slightly, and were able to see the small conversation between the officers and the android.

"Salutations, officers!" Penny greeted cheerfully, as if she wasn't in a mild chase scene and trying to get away from the very officers before her.

"Why were you running?! And what happen to those other kids!?" One officer asked, and Cody had to work hard not to respond at the derogatory comment and settled for having his eye twitch in annoyance. He was fifteen, dammit! And finally taller than his godsister! He was not a kid anymore!

"What kids…? I've been by myself all day!_*Hic!*_" Penny stated, unfortunately letting off a small hiccup indicating that she was lying. The soldiers turned to her, curious about the small hic she gave off, but only saw her standing in attention, and simply wrote it off as one of her odd quirks.

"You shouldn't cause a scene!" The first officer stated sternly, scolding the girl as if he was her own.

"Are you ok?" The other officer asked, hoping that the girl didn't damage herself in any way.

"Just a scratch," Penny assured as she showed the officers her torn hands and gleaming metal underneath the skin, causing the two to become uncomfortable.

"Penny, your father isn't going to be happy about this…" The first officer sighed in exasperation, as if this kind of thing has happened before.

"Please, just come with us," The second officer pleaded, hoping to get their target to come with them, and both were happy when she nodded.

"Yes, sir!" Penny obeyed, and proceeded to follow the officers to wherever they were stationed at.

As they left, both Ruby and Cody watched them, both of them sporting small smiles as they silently praised Penny for her good job at her performance. They continued to stare at the departing group when a small series of squeaks was heard from below them. Looking down, the pair noticed a large rat was accompanying them, and Ruby became so startled that she actually jumped and fell further into the dumpster. Her reaction also startled Cody, who let go of his hold on the lid on instinct and accidentally slamming it onto his head, causing him to stumble down as well and, unfortunately, on top of Ruby in a…compromising position. The young reaper began to blush furiously from having her dazed best friend right on top of her and became increasingly frightened by the large rat that was inside the dumpster with the pair. Trying desperately to get away from both the vermin and the Feline Faunus, she couldn't help but have one thought go through her head.

'_Man, I hope the others are having a better day than I am!_'

-Streets of Vale's, fallen district, early evening-

Yang was silent as he drove her motorcycle down the streets of town with Neptune clinging to her back, a bright yellow helmet protecting her hair from the incoming force of wind that was constantly hitting her. She was surprised that the guy wasn't using the opportunity to feel her up. To her, that meant either two things; 1: Neptune was quite the gentleman and was not willing to put his hands were they shouldn't be, or 2: The guy was too stunned by the fact that he was riding a motorcycle with a hot chick to take advantage of the situation. She wasn't arguing though. It was nice to have someone other than her friends to ride with her and not try anything funny, especially since Baltazar explicitly stated that he was not riding her motorcycle with her again as long as he lived.

Thanks to that train of thought, though, Yang's mind began to wander a little bit to earlier today, when she met up with the lightning ninja and recalled the following conversation that occurred.

_-Flashback, Relámpagos Repairs backroom, shortly before departure-_

_"Alright, Flare, your screaming metal deathtrap of a motorbike is all checked out. Nothing wrong with it, as usual, so you're good to do whatever the heck you want with it." Baltazar muttered as he wiped his oil covered hands with a paper towel, he himself still in his Beacon uniform with a few oil stains covering his face and blazer and a navy blue cat sleeping on his workbench._

_"Thanks, Sparky. I really appreciate it," Yang said gratefully as she inspected her vehicle while Neptune let off an impressed whistle, before turning to the dirty ninja with a glare. "And how many times have I told you NOT to call Bumblebee a screaming metal deathtrap! I haven't been on a wreck with her and you know it!"_

_"A miracle, really, considering how you drive." Baltazar stated with a small smirk, further annoying his blonde companion if her pouty huff was anything to go by. _

_"You're just jealous because you can't handle ridding my girl without proper protection," The brawler grumbled while walking up to her slightly blushing cat-eyed friend and flicked his ear, causing him to flinch and jump away from her slightly,_

_"Excuse me for having sensitive hearing and requiring earplugs to ride that loud monster of yours… And did you seriously have to word it like that?" The ninja muttered while rubbing his slightly sore ear before acknowledging the bemused blue-haired teen with a quirked eyebrow. "What's up, bud? You need something?"_

_"Eh… It's nothing. Just surprised to see how well you two get along despite how different you act and look at first glance," Neptune admitted with a light laugh and his arms crossed, speaking honestly at the two close friends before him._

_"We get that a lot," Yang grinned as she wrapped an arm around Baltazar's neck, being careful not getting oil on her and causing him to glance at her in mock annoyance, "The two of us have been through a lot since this guy moved to Vale around four years go. With all that's happened between us since that fateful boat trip all those years ago, I can honestly say that this dark thunderbolt here is, without a doubt, the best guy friend I've ever had… Even after he puked in my hair the first time we met."_

_"You're never gonna let that go, aren't you?" Baltazar muttered slightly while shaking his head before turning to Neptune with a small smile. "She's right, though. Weiss may be my childhood friend and my girlfriend, but Yang and I have much more in common than most people think. We had our rough patches here and there, but in the end, this blonde firecracker here is the closest friend I've made since moving here, and I wouldn't have it any other way."_

_"Wow… You two really have a history together, eh? I'm surprised you two didn't hook up because of that," Neptune confessed, getting slightly confused when Yang started laughing loudly, letting go of her hold on Baltazar while he simply chuckled._

_"We get that a lot as well. Sure Yang's great and good looking at all, but I was interested in someone else at the time. Didn't stop her from trying to hook me up with some of her other friends or asking me out herself though," Baltazar smirked, nudging the still laughing girl's waist gently._

_"Hahaha, I only asked you out once, Sparky! And I was trying to get you some dating experience so that you'd be ready when you ask your precious Snow Angel out!" Yang giggled with a wide grin before turning to Neptune with a slightly pleading look, "Say, mind giving us a moment, really quick? I need to talk to Sparky about something and-"_

_"Say no more. I'll get out of your guys' hair for a moment while you talk. I'll be waiting in front of the counter when you're done," Neptune said politely while pointing at the entrance to the front of the store._

_"Thanks, man. We appreciate it. I hope you don't mind watching over my cat too while we talk. She's good company when she behaves…" Baltazar smiled kindly, getting a friendly nod in response, before turning to this workbench and gently prodded the sleeping cat on his blueprints. "Hey, Gale. Mind going to the counter for a bit to keep Neptune company? It'll only be a minute, so try and have fun with him, ok? And don't ruin the store this time. Pop's still mad at you for busting that air conditioner he fixed last week."_

_"Mew…" The sleepy cat mewed in a slightly mischievous tone, getting up from its spot and stretching slightly before trotting over to the door, following an amused looking Neptune out of it._

_The moment the two were out the door, Baltazar turned to Yang with a serious expression, which was returned with a look that was just as stern._

_"So… Your mission has begun." He stated with a small frown marring his face._

_"Yup," Yang confirmed, not bothering to deny the fact._

_"And you're allowing someone you barely knew for a week at most to be a part of it instead of the others?" The lightning ninja pressed, slightly confused at her decision to bring in the new friend to the plan._

_"Sun's in it as well. He was involved in the last incident with Blake last semester and had already brought Neptune with him when he showed up in the tree near our window. Didn't really have a choice but to bring them in. Sorry…" The fire brawler admitted with a slight wince, worried how the Faunus before her was going to react to the confession, but was relieved when he simply smiled in mild relief himself._

_"Don't apologize. To be honest, I'm glad you managed to get a couple more people involved in case something happens. Not enough to compromise your mission, but enough to provide some good backup just in case," Baltazar admitted in approval and a slight nod, unaware of his comrade's contemplating look._

_"You know…" Yang spoke up slowly and softly, catching his attention, "I wouldn't mind if you'd help us out too, and I know the others wouldn't either. You have just as much right to get involved as much as the rest of us. Probably even more considering your own…history with the White Fang. You might even find the answers to what you've been looking for these past few years…"_

_The blonde felt a little bad bringing up sensitive topics, especially concerning the White Fang, but she was more aware of the group than most would think. With her best friend, and now her partner, being connected with the organization in one way or another, she couldn't help but be at least somewhat knowledgeable about them. She also knew the teen before her better than most, including Weiss about certain things. Sure the heiress was his childhood friend, but there were some things about her beau that even she wasn't aware of, simply for her safety. One such subject involved the White Fang. Yang wouldn't put it against him for joining in her team's crusade, and would be a welcome addition, all things considered, so it was to her great surprised when he actually shook his head to her request, turning it down despite what he could gain from it._

_"I wish I could go with you guys. I really do… But I have other things I need to take care of," He said tiredly, his voice laced with a mix of disappointment and frustration._

_"What's wrong? Don't tell me you're wrapped up in another one of your family's forging projects, again…" Yang asked worriedly, wondering why he wasn't jumping at the opportunity to help them out._

_"I wish I was…" Baltazar sighed as he walked to his workbench, adding more fuel to the blonde's concern. "Got a call from Kira and Aiuto yesterday. Apparently there's been a lot of Dust thefts all over the kingdom of Vale lately, and even Forjador City was hit. Lots of businesses that use and sell Dust were hit, including Azure Armory Incorporated, but energy wasn't the only thing that was taken from my family's factory…"_

_"Oh God… Don't tell me… Was The Vault hit?" Yang gasped her question in horror, knowing full well what would happen if the active weapons hidden within the company's special and more personal weapons vault were stolen._

_"Worse… Some of our new experimental weapons were taken, and not just from the Vale branch…" Baltazar confessed, missing the surprised gasp as his fist clenching slightly and his golden brown eyes glowing electric blue in anger before calming down slightly and began shifting through the papers on his desk, "AAI's Atlas branch had its experimental weapons taken too. Ones that have been under development specifically for General Ironwood's army… Including the big project he was working on with us and Weiss's company."_

_"Big project?" Yang repeated before she was given a blueprint by her friend and looked over it, and immediately paled when she finished. "Oh boy…"_

_"Yup. That thing makes the Giga-Class AM-PY40 that we faced a while back look like an overgrown children's toy." Baltazar confirmed as he took the blueprint back and placed it on his workbench. "The thefts are still under wraps since the authorities don't want to get the public in a panic, but Kira managed to find some things in her dad's case files while Aiuto did a little personal digging at AAI's Atlas branch. They asked me to help them out with this and I agreed. It's why I was so tired yesterday and fell asleep in most of our classes. I won't be able to leave the shop until late tonight either, so as much as I really want to go…I can't. I'm sorry…"_

_And he meant it too. She could tell, and was painfully aware how much it was eating him up to not be able to participate, despite giving his approval for allowing her team to go at this alone. Not wanting him to be in more pain, the blonde placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, catching his attention, and gave him a small, reassuring smile._

_"Hey, don't beat yourself over this, Sparky. It's fine that you can't come. You got other things to worry about. Tell you what, if I'm able to, I'll try and find something out about what happened at Patch for you. I might be able to find something if I'm lucky. I also promise to do my very best to ensure the safety of the others. I'll even resort to using Sunrise Strike if I have to, which won't be much of a problem now thanks to the recent upgrades we did to Ember Celica earlier this week."_

_"…"_

_Baltazar stared at Yang with tired eyes, and she could see the gratitude within them. She knew how worried he was about her team's operation, and her assurance was just the thing he needed at the moment. However, there was still a hint of dissatisfaction in his eyes, as if wondering if there was anything he could do to assist them. That feeling, however, went away as soon as he let off a tired sigh, one that was mixed with both relief and, to her confusion, reluctance._

_"Yang… Thank you for everything you're doing today. I know I can trust you to do your best to keep everyone safe and healthy, and if things do go south, my and Weiss's necklaces will go off and I'll be there to help. However, I do have something on me that will pretty much assure you victory if you need it, but only if you use it as a last resort…"_

_With that, the ninja shuffled through his workbench again and pulled out a small blue canister, something that was very familiar to the blonde, to the point where she was practically frozen in recognition. She regained her bearings quickly, but was still a little out of it once the ninja stood before her with the canister in hand and placed it gently in her hands._

_"Sparky… These are…"_

_"To be used only if absolutely necessary. Our dads and Professor Qrow aren't around all that often anymore, so be careful when using them, ok? Honestly, I doubt you'll need them, and I hope you'll never do, but it's good to carry a backup plan, just in case fighting as the 'Little Sun Dragon' isn't enough…" Baltazar finished with his arms crossed, his expression stern towards Yang in the beginning before adopting a softer expression towards the end._

_Yang nodded immediately before pocketing the canister, hoping that she would not be needing the contents of it for a long time. She knew the risks involve when using them, and nodded firmly to her friend, agreeing to the conditions, before rushing to him and gave him a tight hug. The teen grunted slightly at the action, but only for a moment before hugging her back._

_"You and the others come back safe, ok?" He whispered, tightening his grip slightly before letting go with a small, sad smile on his face._

_"No worries. I'll bring everyone back safe and sound. Count on it." She grinned with a thumb up, easing not only his worries, but her own as well, fully prepared now to take on whatever challenge she may face._

_*Crash!*_

_"What the-!?" The pair gasped as soon as they heard the sound of glass and metal hitting the ground, and immediately rushed to the front of the store, only to see it completely in shambles, Neptune looking a little frazzled, and the deep blue cat staring at the approaching duo with an innocent stare._

_"There was…nothing I could do…" Neptune muttered in a dazed tone, "She was…just…too fast…"_

_The feline had no response, and simply continued to stare at Yang and Baltazar innocently, yet neither were fooled by the look_

_"…Gale, its crap like this that keeps you from coming to Beacon with me. Now I'll never get back home in a reasonable time." Baltazar sighed, depressed that he had to stay even longer because of his cat's actions._

_"I wish you luck in your endeavor, my friend," Yang said in a mock solemn tone while placing a hand on his shoulder and a teasing grin on her face, causing him to scowl at her._

_"…Just hurry up and get on your stupid screaming metal death trap already. Don't you have somewhere to be?"_

_"For the last time, she isn't a screaming metal death trap!"_

_-End Flashback-_

Yang hid a smile as she finished recalling her chat with the lightning ninja. It reminded her of some of the talks they had before attending Beacon and made her realize that the two of them haven't had a day to themselves since the year started. She wanted to fix that as soon as possible, but right now, she had other business to attend to, just as he does right now…

Noticing that they were close, the blonde made a sharp turn, her tires screeching and pulling off a wheelie as she did so, and began to slow down to a stop. Once stopped, she removed her helmet and placed it on her bike before turning to Neptune while pointing her thumb to the building beside her.

"C'mon, my friend's right in here!" She exclaimed before getting off the bike, leaving the poor, stunned cool guy on the vehicle alone for a moment, his hair and glasses askew from the ride.

"Cool…" Neptune responded in a daze tone, whether it was due to the ride or the rider it wasn't clear, before shaking his head to snap out of his delirium and turned to the blonde curiously. "And where exactly is…here?"

-Meanwhile, inside the building-

Club Xiong, or often simply called the Club, was the business establishment of a well-known underground info-breaker named Hei Xiong, known to many as Junior. Junior was said to have valuable information about the kingdom, and possessed a load of workers for him to do whatever kind of job they were tasked for. They were even hired by other workers to pull off different types of work, mostly in the shady variety. The tall man, who had black hair, grey eyes, a black mustache that connected to his beard and wearing a white dress shirt and red tie underneath a black vest, black dress pants and matching loafers, was standing behind the counter of the bar, looking at his club in pride as he saw his men, who wore black suits with matching hats and sunglasses, tidying up the place. From stocking the alcohol to testing the music, it looked like things were going pretty well for him. He even had a customer drinking near him. Someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Hey, Hei. Club looks good as ever. Didn't I hear that it was demolished earlier this year by a seventeen-year-old blonde bombshell or something?"

"Thanks, and yeah. It's hard work keeping this place nice, especially after what Blondie did to it a while back, but it's worth it," Junior stated with pride as he set the glass down to turn to his guest, who was wearing the standard Atlesian Soldier uniform, complete with the helmet and goggles, but a hint of black hair was showing behind the headgear while his lower face showed off a tan complexion and a bit of a stubble on his chin.

"That's good. This club's the only place in this whole kingdom that has my favorite drink. It'd be a shame if it was shut down because of an underage kid who tore it down and beat you six ways to Sunday," The man teased while taking a sip from his shot glass before pouring more in it from the bottle beside him, cheerfully ignoring the grumbling beside him.

"I don't even want to know how you managed to find that out…" Junior sighed in defeat before leaning on the bar slightly, "So… Why the hell are you in that get up? I thought you quit being one of Ironwood's soldiers and moved to some small archipelago in the west or something."

"I did quit, but I was here to help an old friend out when he found me and practically begged me to come back to beef up security for the festival. He was so desperate to get me back, and was practically on his knees, even saying that I can still do whatever I want while I'm here! I couldn't help but accept his request! Who can say no to such a sad sight?!" The man said in an overdramatic tone that the hulking bar owner couldn't help but sweatdrop at the explanation.

"…He threatened to sic that scary new assistant of his on you if you don't help him out, didn't he?"

_*Thud*_

"Dammit, Hei, you really know how to ruin a guy's mood," The soldier grumbled after slamming his head on the bar, causing Junior to chuckle at the sight.

"It's what I do," Junior grinned slightly before sobering up, "So what _are_ you doing here, then? You said that you were going to do something for an old friend, but-"

"Ah-ah-ah! Can't say anything, Hei. Confidentiality and all. You're a shady info-broker after all." The man grinned while Junior let off a begrudging grunt, before continuing. "Besides, you have other things to worry about right now from what I can see…"

"…What do you mean?" The bar owner questioned, his eyes narrowing slightly when he noticed the white glow that was appearing behind his grinning guest's goggles.

"Hehehe… Well…as far as I can tell… Things are going to get _very_ hot in a moment. Wasn't expecting one of _his_ girls showing up, but then again, this one acts just like her mother at times…"

With that, the man grabbed the bottle on his left and, with an even larger grin, vanished in a swirling gust of wind, leaving Junior alone at the bar and confused from his words. What the soldier said had an ominous feeling to it, and was hoping he would come back so he could get some clarification. Unfortunately for everyone, it was too late…

"Close the door! She's coming!" One guy shouted as he ran out of the entrance to the club with another man close to him before barricading the door with their bodies.

"What are you two idiots doing!?" Junior shouted while stomping out of the bar as the pair shouted incoherently at him.

*_BOOOM!*_

Before Junior could get a proper response, his club door blew open, sending his two men stumbling out of the entrance, and was greeted by the sight of someone he was hoping not to see in a long time.

"Guess who's _back_!"

Yang Xiao Long; the girl that ruined his club, took out his men, and the twins, punched him in the face so hard he flew out of the _building_, and most importantly, literally held his nuts for ransom the moment she tried to get info out of him before. Evidently her actions were still fresh in his men's minds, because a group of them immediately brought out their guns and took aim at her. The blonde didn't even looked phased when they appeared, something that didn't really surprised him. In fact, the only reaction that she was showing, other than her smug looking grin, was an annoyed glare at his DJ, most likely because of the skipping record that was still playing in the background. Thankfully, he got the hint, and popped out of his hiding spot briefly to take the needle off the record before ducking back down.

"Yeah, so can you define 'friend' to me?" Neptune spoke up, popping up from behind Yang, where he hid the moment he heard the guns come out.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot!" Junior ordered as he cut through his men in an attempt to prevent any kind of damage to happen before straightening his tie and turned to Yang slightly nervously. "Blondie, you're here! …Why?!"

"You still owe me a drink…" Yang stated sternly, pointing at the man with a glare before grabbing him by the tie and practically dragged him towards the bar, much to the shock and shame of his henchmen and apparently to the arousal of Neptune.

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho… What a woman…" The bluenette muttered in a lovestruck tone,

before putting up his cool persona and turned to a pair of black haired, well dressed twin girls, one in red and one in white, who, for some reason, were standing right next to him. "'Sup?"

"Hmph! Whatever…" The twins scoffed before sauntering off, much to Neptune's disappointment, and had no choice but to follow his hot companion's path.

-Alleyways of Vale, same time-

Three claw marks on the wall… They made it to their destination. Blake traced the mark with her fingers before peaking past the wall, with Charcoal looking alongside her on the ground. In front of them were a pair of horned Faunus being led into the nearby building by a nicely dressed old man. She knew what was in the building, and turned to Sun to tell him they made it.

"This is it…"

"You sure…?" Sun asked for assurance, only to receive a pair of harsh glares in response before backing off with his hands up in surrender. "You know, I'm just gonna take your word for it."

With that, the trio entered into the building, with Blake removing her bow to reveal her cat ears to show her heritage for admittance, Sun buttoning his shirt to add some inconspicuousness, and Charcoal quickly and quietly slinking through the crowd to get in to the meeting first. As they walked, they saw the same pair that Blake saw earlier being ushered further into the building by a White Fang soldier talking about new recruits and decided to follow them. As they continued, Sun decided to ask a question that was on his mind for a while, ever since he saw the White Fang a while back.

"I don't get it…" The monkey Faunus spoke up, causing the pair to pause, before taking out a silver mask that Blake gave to him earlier. "If you believe what you're doing is right…why hide who you are?"

"The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters," Blake explained solemnly while staring at the half mask in Sun's hand, as if recalling the past experiences she had while donning them in her youth.

"Grimm Masks… That's kinda dark…" Sun admitted with a grimace.

"So was the guy who started it. We should be grateful one of his sources of inspiration isn't nearly as dark…at least to us… There was a reason why Mr. Bo's title in the group was The Beast of Lightning before leaving…" The shadow ninja muttered while putting the mask on, briefly recalling the little meeting she had with said beast after her talk with her headmaster after the docks incident, before turning back to the hall and continued on.

"It's always sunshine and rainbows with you," Sun grumbled sarcastically before putting the mask on as well and followed his fellow Faunus further inside, where they were greeted by the sight of various other Faunus standing in front of a small stage that housed some sort of large object hidden behind a large black cloth with the White Fang seal on it. A small number of them wearing normal clothes, indicating they were new recruits, while the rest were full on soldiers, complete with the standard uniform. The paired were sent to the side of the new recruits, completely blended in with everyone else, and proceeded to look around the crowd, making sure that no one that could recognize them was around. They only had a few minutes when one soldier, whom Blake recognized as one of the organization's lieutenant, began to speak up.

"Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours!" The fully masked man announced as he gestured to his side, where Roman Torchwick was seen walking out of the shadows with a small, confident smirk, with a small woman with a mix of pink and brown hair, a white top and jacket with a black corset, a black necklace, brown pants and grey heels, walking towards the other side of the stage not long after him, "I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long!"

The crowd, primarily the new recruits, immediately began jeering towards the newcomer while the soldiers did gave him a small applause. It was an understandable reaction for the new guys, simply because Roman was, of course, human. The very reason why the White Fang existed in the first place. Roman himself, however, didn't seemed fazed by the negative reaction, and actually had the gall to wave at them mockingly, something that Sun and Blake were not surprised about.

"Thank you, thank you! Please, hold your applause," The criminal said with a grin as a small woman started speaking what was on the minds of many new recruits.

"What's a _human_ doing here!?" She cried out in outrage, with various others supporting her.

"I'm glad you ask, 'Deerie'!" Roman grinned, taking a jab at the woman's antlers, before continuing. "Now, I'll be the first to admit, humans…are the worst! Case in point!" He saluted for emphasis, "So I understand why you would like to see us locked away, or better yet, _killed_!"

"So… Is he going somewhere with this?" Sun whispered in confusion to Blake, who was unable to provide an answer.

"_But_, before the claws come out, I'd like to mention the fact that you and I all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!" Torchwick continued, and both Sun and Blake began to look concerned when they noticed the recruits were starting to become swayed to the man's words, "Government, military, even schools! They are all to blame for your lot in life!"

The crowd began to start cheering, further unnerving the pair, who began to stare at each other worriedly. They couldn't do anything at the moment, and were forced to simply watch as the charismatic criminal continue to gain the favor of the Faunus.

"And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around… No offense to any rodents in the room."

With that, Torchwick lifted his hand and snapped his fingers, which signaled a soldier to remove the cloth from the huge object on stage, revealing something that neither Sun nor Blake were expecting: An Atlesian Paladin, they very mech suit that General Ironwood designed to ensure the safety of Remnant. Their minds went into overdrive after that, while the crowd began going wild at the unveiling, especially after noticing the White Fang symbol etched onto the machine.

"Whoa… That's a big robot…" Sun muttered in mild shock.

"How did he get that…?" Blake mumbled while glaring behind her mask, knowing full well that it would've been next to impossible for Roman to get something like that giant mech all on his own.

"As some of you may had heard, this right here is Atlas's newest defense against all the scary things in the world," Torchwick stated while giving the robot a couple knocks to prove it's authentic. "And thanks to my 'employer', we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, 'hit the shelves'. Now, many of your brothers have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast. If you'd rather stay within the city, that's fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal I can provide you. Any questions?"

As soon as Roman finished his speech, the crowd had begun cheering once more, now fully in favor of the kingdom-renowned criminal and his actions. The meeting had left a sour taste in the young Faunus spies, but they had the information that they were looking for and then some. They no longer had to stay anymore, and the two had to make sure they were not noticed by the white clad man or else they will get recognized for sure.

"We should get out of here," Blake said urgently, with Sun nodding in agreement.

Unfortunately, luck wasn't on their side.

"Will all new recruits please come forward!?" The White Fang Lieutenant requested, prompting all the regularly clothed Faunus to walk towards the side of the stage, most likely to obtain their new uniforms and such. Blake and Sun, however, simply stood in the same spot, unsure of what to do, but also allowing the others to move ahead while leaving themselves open to be spotted.

"Welp…" Sun chirped uncomfortably, not even bothering to finish his sentence, knowing full well that Blake was thinking the same thing he was.

They had to get out right away, or else they will probably not make it to the others. Alive at least.

-The Club, same time-

Meanwhile, back at the Club, Yang had been grilling Junior for whatever information the man had about Roman and the White Fang, knowing full well that he came to him many months ago to use his guys for a heist. She also smiled mentally when she recalled that those very same men were tossed around like week old garbage by her own little sister. She couldn't help welling up in pride as she recalled that fact, but forced herself to bury the feeling in order to finish her part of the mission.

Which, unfortunately, wasn't working out to well for her

"I don't know!"

"How do you not know!?"

"I haven't talked to him! I haven't even seen him since the night you first came in here!" Junior stated loudly, infuriating Yang at his inability to answer her demands, as he leaned towards her with a serious expression. "He paid up front. I lend him my men. And none of them ever. Came. Back."

"So where did they go?" Neptune questioned, zipping into the bar and hoping to get in on the intelligence gathering. Sadly for him, all he got was a blank stare from the man in response, as if he was an idiot of some sort.

"…What kind of stupid question is that? They never came back!" Junior reiterated after a mild pause at the blue haired teen's ridiculous question before turning back to the blonde. "Who is this guy?"

"Don't worry about him," Yang stated sternly as she pushed Neptune away, prompting him to stand in attention as she continued with her work, "Worry about _me_ if I don't find out what I want."

"I already told you everything! Torchwick hired my boys, and I guess he wasn't happy with them," Junior assured, staring straight at Yang's eyes to ensure his sincerity, before turning to his own men in annoyance, "Which is something I can relate to!"

Ignoring the sounds of grumbling and protest from the insulted henchmen, Yang stared at the man with a glare, her arms crossed to show that she wasn't satisfied with his answer. It was then that she noticed something different about the place that she didn't catch when she first barged in, and decided to bring it up.

"Hey, I thought you had more men than this. I know you sent some to Torchwick and they didn't come back, but even so, you'd still have plenty in reserve. What, did you fire them for their incompetence or something?"

"Tch, I wish," Junior scoffed in slight irritation, "Some lady with purple hair asked to borrow some of my men a few days ago and paid me top dollar for them. I accepted the offer and told her to keep them as long as she need. Their replacements will be coming in sometime next week."

"And what did this purple haired lady want with your men?" She pressed, a little curious as to why her informant's henchmen were bought once more.

"I don't know. She never elaborated on that. Just said that she needed some strong guys to help her with some things and that she'd promise to bring them back. Feh, good chance of that happening with my luck…" Junior scoffed dismissively, and Yang knew that she wasn't able to get any more information from him.

…Fine. We're done then. C'mon Neptune," Yang ordered while turning towards the exit, snapping Neptune out of his salute and prompting him to follow the understandably irritated young woman.

"We get everything we need?" Neptune asked.

"Well, we got everything we can. Hopefully the rest of the team is having better luck…" Yang sighed reluctantly as the duo exited the door, unaware of the amused soldier from earlier that was standing in the shadows nearby.

"Hmm… Sounds like something big is gonna happen soon. Heh. This otta be interesting…"

-White Fang Meeting, same time-

Back at the warehouse, Blake and Sun were still unable to find a way to get out of their predicament unnoticed. To make matters worse, they were forced to follow the new recruits in order to remain inconspicuous, however both knew it was only a matter of time before they were discovered.

"What are we going to do!?" Sun whispered worriedly.

"I'm thinking…" Blake muttered as she looked around for a way out of their situation.

As they spoke, Torchwick was talking to his mixed-haired acquaintance, seemingly not bothering to notice the new recruits, but something caught his eye, a familiar pair of cat ears and spikey blonde hair, he turned his eyes slightly, and frowned when he noticed two very familiar Faunus amongst the new recruits. Sun noticed his change in expression, and winced when he realized that the criminal now knew they were here.

"He sees us…" Sun muttered uncomfortably as Torchwick threw his cigar to the ground to confront the pair. The blonde monkey gave the approaching man a nervous grin and a wave while Blake continued to search for a way to escape when she heard a familiar mew. Turning to the sound, she was pleased to see Charcoal nearby, standing on a nearby junction box. Right then and there did an idea appeared, and it seemed that the black cat had the same one as well, if the smug stare and slight nod was any indication.

"He can't see in the dark," The cat girl stated smugly before bringing out her pistol and shot the box, shorting out the warehouse and making it completely dark.

The moment darkness shrouded the building, panic ensued, with various Faunus wondering what was going on, especially the White Fang soldiers, and Roman shouting at them to stop the intruders. The three of them had to act fast, and Blake knew of only one exit they could take during the confusion.

"Don't let them get away!"

"Sun, the window!"

"Mrowl Mow!"

"STOP THEM!"

The trio managed to make it out of the warehouse through the window, now without their masks, but not before hearing the sounds of machinery starting up. It was only a few seconds after their escape that the Paladin that Torchwick displayed earlier busted out of the building, leaving a gaping hole in the wall. With the giant robot hot on their tails, the pair leaped onto the rooftops of the nearby buildings in order to get the height advantage and ensure their safety. Sooner or later, though, they will be out of roofs to hop, and both knew that, so Sun decided to voice his suggestion to his comrade in espionage.

"So you wouldn't happen to have…oh, I don't know…some form of _backup_?!" The teen cried hysterically amidst his hops.

"Mow, mew!" Charcoal agreed with a hint of urgency, easily keeping up with the two Faunus.

"On it!" Blake responded as she pulled out her Scroll to notify the others of their predicament. She only hoped that they were able to reach them in time, before it was too late.

-With Weiss, Rita and Levy, CCT Lobby-

"So are you going back to the dorms, Weiss? We could come with you if you want," Levy offered as she, Rita and Weiss walked out of the elevator, but frowned slightly when she was given a negative response.

"Actually, Levy, I'm supposed to meet up with Ruby and the others in a bit. Maybe we can hang out later tonight, if that's-"

_*Beee-Beep! Bee-Beep!*_

Both girls went silent when Weiss's Scroll went off, both wondering who it was that was trying to contact her. The heiress didn't waste any time pressing the answer button, and what she heard was not something she was expecting.

[_Everyone! If you can hear me, we need back-_]

[_HEEEEEEELP!_]

[_MEEEEW!_]

It was Blake, Sun, and Charcoal, all of them in some sort of trouble with all the loud noises and rumbling that was going around in the background. Weiss couldn't help but roll her eyes a little at the pair's predicament, but also had a small smile on her face as well. Things were starting to pick up, and she was not going to miss out on any of it.

"Weiss…? What's going on? Was that Blake and Sun just now?" Levy asked worriedly, and Weiss had to hold back a curse, forgetting that Levy was with her and would most likely try and help. She knew her team wanted to keep their friends out of the plan to ensure that none of them got hurt, but if things were going bad, then they were going to need all the help they can get.

"Yes it was. They're in a bit of trouble right now. If you want to help, then follow me. We don't have much time," Weiss stated with a serious gaze, and smiled slightly when she saw the look of determination and protectiveness in the usually meek medic's face.

"Let's go." She stated firmly, prompting her and her best friend to take off at a dead sprint, completely forgetting the bemused huntress behind them and neither of them noticing a certain spot underneath the heiress's coat was glowing a little.

The same spot where her necklace usually was… And Rita couldn't help but get excited over the new development

"Oh ho, this is gonna be _fun_!"

-With Ruby and Cody, alleyways of Vale-

[_Big robot! And I mean really, really big!_] Sun's voice exclaimed from Ruby's Scroll, and the young rose couldn't help but smile excitedly at the chance to fight such a thing.

"Oh I am _not_ missing this!" Ruby exclaimed before turning to Cody, who was nursing a lump on his head with an ice pack and was sitting on top of the now boarded up dumpster courtesy of the rodent-fearing reaper, "Cody! Guess what?! We got to go fight a giant robot again!"

"Really…? Great…! Let's get going…!" Cody said with a bit of a slur, his head still ringing a little from the dumpster lid landing on his head. Not a moment later, the two young students rushed out of the alley to join in on the fray.

-With Yang and Neptune, entrance of the Club-

[_That Torchwick guy is in it! But not, like, it didn't eat him! He's, like, controlling it or something!_] Sun continued to explain from Yang's Scroll. The girl was sitting on her bike and had her shades and helmet on when the call came on while Neptune was sitting behind her.

"Where are you guys?!" Yang asked loudly, hoping that they would be able to hear her from all the rumbling in the background. Oddly enough, there was loud rumbling around where they were at too, and it sounded eerily similar to what she was hearing in her Scroll.

"HUUURY!"

That was Sun, the blonde realized, and it didn't come from her phone. Turning their heads, both she and her blue haired companion looked at the nearby street, watching somewhat unsurely when they saw both him and Blake running for their lives from a giant robot.

"…I think that was them," Neptune stated bluntly after hearing his monkey tailed friend screaming for his life.

"Yeah, I got it…" Yang muttered as she pocketed her Scroll and started up her bike before speeding off, with one thing on her mind as she left.

'_Sparky's gonna be very upset once he finds out about this…_'

-The roads of Vale-

Sun and Blake, having no more roofs to hop, were forced to jump onto the massive intersecting highway, landing on various vehicles in order to stay ahead of their pursuer, while Charcoal was practically clinging for his life on the monkey boy's bushy head. Said pursuer, however, was still on top of them, and was not above bashing away other cars in order to get the Faunus pair.

"Whoa!" Sun exclaimed, feeling sorry for the people in the cars Torchwick was pushing away, before he and Blake continued car hoping in order to stay away from the rampaging robot. Behind the giant behemoth, in fast pursuit, were Yang and Neptune, the latter now wearing his goggles. The duo had just managed to make it to the highway and were now trying to figure out the best way to distract the metal beast.

"We got to slow it down!" Yang exclaimed.

"Got it!" Neptune agreed as he reached for the folded firearm from his back.

It was at that moment, however, when a small alarm was tripped in Torchwick's robot. He looked down at the monitor and growled when he noticed the trio of students behind him. Knowing that they might try and trip him up, he began to ram into more vehicles into their direction, hoping that they would take down the motorcycle and the kids riding it.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't take to account of Yang's 'exceptional' driving skills.

Neptune, hold on!"

"Huh?"

*_Schreeech!*_

It was at that moment that Yang began to speed up and swerve around the incoming cars, while Neptune started to flail around once more, and he couldn't help screaming a bit in surprise from all the sudden turns the blond was making. Yang was even forced to dive underneath a car to avoid collision, something that very surprised and startled the normally cool teen. Once out of danger, Neptune grabbed the gun from his back and flipped it until it was fully activated, and began firing multiple pulses of energy at the Paladin's back.

The attacks struck home, and Torchwick ended up stumbling a bit from the multiple impacts, but still kept on with his pursuit. Neptune wasn't done yet, however, and began twirling his weapon around until it morphed into a large glaive with a glowing blade. With another twirl, the cool teen leapt off Yang's motorcycle and separated the blade into three sections, turning it into a trident, and impaled his weapon into the robot.

Further up, Blake and Sun managed to land on a car and truck respectively, prompting Charcoal to jump off its ride and onto the vehicle, and turned to see Neptune struggling to keep his hold. The Monkey Faunus began to grow worried for his friend, and knew he had to do something to help him.

"Neptune, hang on!" Sun ordered, silently hoping that the teen's grip would hold out long enough to execute his plan.

"Need some help?!" A young voice asked, and Sun turned to see Cody landing right behind him with his large rifle/sword in his hand like it was as light as a stick.

"Got some charge shots in that thing?" The foreign student asked as his hair began to glow as bright as the sun.

"Ya need to ask!?" The young forger grinned as his eyes began to glow bright blue and his pupils narrow to slits once again before pointing his gunblade at the charging robot and opened fire, slowing it down slightly.

With a nod in satisfaction, Sun turned to the direction of the robot and spread his arms out. A moment later he let out a loud clap, and from it came two clones of himself in golden outlines. The clones leapt towards their target, easily hoping onto the incoming cars, and managed to strike the behemoth, exploding as soon as they made contact. With the robot stunned, Sun decided to make his move, and began to head towards the robot with his staff active. Unfortunately for him, Torchwick's struggling managed to get Neptune's trident out of his body and inadvertently launched the poor teen into the unsuspecting Faunus, launching them both over the guard rail and out of the highway.

Blake saw them go down, and couldn't help but let off a fierce growl at Torchwick's direction. Cody let off an annoyed growl as well, but forced himself to reign his emotions until his real prize came to the picture.

[_Blake! We're in position!_] A familiar regal voice spoke up from the shadow ninja's Scroll, and she was happy to hear that her teammate was ready to do her part, but was slightly confused when she heard 'we' at first she assumed that Ruby was in position as well, but noticed Cody was grinning widely as well with Charcoal sitting on his shoulder.

"Levy's helping Big Sis out! Charcoal sensed her and just told me! Your plan, whatever it is, is gonna go out without a hitch now!" The forger explained, and Blake couldn't help but feel reassured knowing that her book buddy was assisting them.

Further ahead, Weiss and Levy were seen leaping out of the highway above where the big chase was taking place and landed right in the middle of the road, with the heiress bringing her rapier up and Levy gripping her gunblades in both hands, not flinching at all from the incoming cars speeding past them. Torchwick saw the pair and grinned, thinking that the two frail looking girls couldn't do a thing to stop him. That train of thought, however, flew out the window when Levy twirled her pistols briefly and aimed downwards before blasting the road with her water rounds, completely soaking the spot where she stood. Immediately after that, Weiss made a quick pirouette before impaling her rapier on the wet ground, instantly freezing it with a much wider range than if she had done it alone. With the highway now slick, Torchwick's robot began sliding uncontrollably, unable to find stable ground in all the ice, and ended up falling to its side and slid right off the highway to a lower level, where Ruby was seen with her sniper/scythe active, waiting in anticipation.

The Paladin managed to land on its feet, practically unscathed from the onslaught that it received on the upper level, while Ruby was quickly joined with her teammates. Seeing the group all together now, Torchwick couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at the chance of taking them all out at once.

"**Red! I'm sorry to say this but this is where you and your little group of girl scouts lose!**" Torchwick's voice echoed from inside the Paladin, "**Not only do I have this bad boy to take you on, but I also have a few buddies from the White Fang coming to pick you all out! Hate so say this, but it looks like I got the winning hand here!**"

"Hate to say this, but it looks like you're not playing with a full hand!" Ruby taunted back with a wicked grin, with her teammates nodding in agreement. "We know that your stupid White Fang soldiers were coming, so we came prepared too! We have a few friends ourselves making sure they don't mess with our fight! Now it's just you and us!"

Torchwick let out another amused chuckle at the young leader's attempt to look tough. Even if what the girl was saying was true, he doubt that the soldiers that were following him were going to be stopped by a small bunch of kids. He began to move forward slowly, savoring the moment of his impending victory over the band of huntresses in training. He figured that since they were still a bunch of brats, they weren't going to be much of a threat.

Unfortunately, he was going to be proven wrong.

"Freezer Burn!"

-Meanwhile, upper level of the highway-

"Lieutenant, I found the spot where Torchwick and the infiltrators fell. They're still alive, and are about to do battle. I believe there's a Schnee among them as well…" A White Fang soldier stated, looking over the hole in the holographic highway guard, with the lieutenant and five other soldiers behind him.

"Good. Let's get those kids and make them pay for what they've done. Leave the Schnee for me though… I wanna have fun with her." The hulking lieutenant smirked with a smirk as he and the other soldiers began approaching the hole, only to step back almost immediately as a large slab of concrete suddenly rose from the road, blocking their way to their destination.

"Sorry, punks, but my baby sister's friends are a little busy at the moment, so you all are gonna have to settle with us, if you don't mind," A very confident voice taunted, prompting the Faunus to turn around to find a smug looking huntress smirking behind them, being flanked by a meek yet determined young woman, a bored looking cat, and a young teenager that was glaring at them so hard they could feel the searing hatred radiating off of him.

"This doesn't involve you, huntress. Now, how about you and your pet and kids get out of here, or else things will get ugly," The lieutenant growled as he brought out a large chainsaw while his subordinates brought out some high-tech looking firearms with sharp blades attached to the top and bottom of the barrels.

"No can do, big guy." Rita smirked as a glyph formed below her and began to glow. "You see, my sis and cousin here are very fond of the girls below us, one of which I've known since she was a kid, so I'm afraid that we're gonna have to interfere with your interference."

"Cousin? The angry Faunus boy beside you?" A soldier with a wolf's tail questioned while pointing at the increasingly furious teen in front of him. "Why do you, a human, call him family? He doesn't even have the same blood as you or the girl beside you…"

"They know…?" Levy muttered, looking at her sister out of the corner of her eye.

"If a Faunus has a strong enough sense of smell, they could tell if someone is related to one another via their same bloodlines. Duke and Kira are good examples of that," Rita muttered back, looking at her young cousin with concern heavy in her eyes as the lieutenant adopted a disgusted scowl towards the trio.

"That's right, and I still say it doesn't make sense that one of our own would ever consider a bunch of humans-"

"Shut up…!" Cody growled, interrupting the higher-up and startling Levy with how much malice he was letting off. "I am very aware of the fact that I'm not related to anyone in my mom's side. I still consider them family no matter what! And I am NOT one of you good for nothing, lowlife, murder happy TRAITORS!"

With that, the young teen rushed towards the soldiers in a furious yell, ignoring the shouts of protest from his cousins or father's cat, and raised his large sword up high before swinging it at the lieutenant before him, who simply blocked the incoming assault with his chainsaw's side with ease.

"Hmm… Lots of anger in you, kid. That ain't healthy for someone your age," The hulking man noted with amusement, further incurring the anger of the younger Faunus.

"You pricks are the reason for my anger in the first place for all you've done to us Faunus as a whole, and to my family personally!" Cody roared as he continued to drive his sword in his opponent, unaware of the other soldiers taking aim with their firearms. The others, however, did notice, and were now very concerned for their cousin's wellbeing.

"Cody!" Levy cried hysterically.

"Get away from my cousin, you freaks!" Rita shouted, releasing the power of the glowing glyph below her and unleashing a burst of fire from her hands, striking the other soldiers and forcing them to focus on the girls.

"Mow, Meow!" Charcoal mewed loudly, embers swirling around it as it jumped towards the nearest oncoming soldier and slashed his face before landing back on the ground and began hissing at its opponent.

Growling at the attack, the soldier pointed his gunblade at the cat and opened fire. The cat, however, was able to jump away from the shots with ease and, with its body still surrounded by embers, struck hits foe with a burning headbutt, knocking the soldier back a ways and slamming him to the ground, further irritating him for having to deal with what he considered to be nothing more than an annoying pet.

As Charcoal continued to fight off its foe, Levy was forced to fight two soldiers at once, and refused to use Flujo and Reflujo in fear of hurting them too badly with her blades. She was far from useless in a fight, however, and was able to easily move away from the shots and slashes from her opponents. One soldier got a bit close to the medic, however, and was unable to defend himself when she practically blurred around him and lightly touched the arm with the gunblade in a few spots, effectively paralyzing it and causing the man to drop his gun.

Cursing himself at the inability to use a part of his body, he pulled his fist back and attempted to punch the girl this time. That was a mistake, however, as she was easily able to deflect the blow away from her with a simple push from her palm. She wasn't done, though, and before the soldier had a chance to escape, the young medic used the momentum of the punch to perform a textbook judo flip on her foe and threw him quite a distance, nearly tossing him over the highway. The action, however, caused the bracelets the medic was wearing to expand similarly to Yang's Ember Celica, though she was too distracted by the other soldier coming at her to notice the change at the moment.

This soldier, relearning from the mistakes of his fallen comrade, had decided to keep his distance, and continued to fire bursts of energy from his gunblades. Though strong enough to blast holes in the road, they were still slow enough that the medic had ample time to bring out her own gunblades and deflect the shots away from her before aiming them with a noticeable frown on her face. Steeling herself slightly for what she was about to do, she pulled the trigger of her guns and fire bursts of high-impact water rounds at her the soldier. Not expecting an aquatic assault, the animal man tried to use the gunblades to cut through the attack, thinking it would've been a simple task. However, as soon as the blade touched the water, the blast exploded on impact, pushing him back slightly from the force and drenching him in freezing water. Shivering from the cold, the man was unable to do anything when the young woman rushed towards him with open palms, ready to simply knock her opponent out and end the fight. What happened instead, however, surprised not only her, but her target as well.

_*Splooosh!*_

"Graaa!"

"Huh…?" Levy muttered, not expecting the burst of water that suddenly came out of her wrist and sent her opponent flying away from her. Looking at her slightly damp hands, she wondered how she was able to perform such a feet until she finally noticed the change in her bracelets and, to her surprise, a pair of gun barrels protruding out of the bottom of them, just underneath her wrists.

She was confused as she continued to stare at her newly revealed battle gauntlets. She was aware that her sister made them and was the one who designed them to be weapons. That much she knew and wasn't really surprised about. It wasn't the first time that happened. However, the gauntlets felt _very _familiar to her for some reason. Even as bracelets she felt something odd about them, a connection of some sort, but brushed them off as them simply being the result of Rita's handiwork. Now, though, the gauntlets are putting her mind in overdrive, trying desperately to figure out how she was until the accessories let off a small, electric spark. And right then and there did she realize what she was possessing.

"…Gentle Storms?" Levy muttered in a perfect mix of surprise and confusion, wondering why her grandfather's signature gauntlets, which were originally given to her leader/cousin when he passed away, ended up in her arms, so to speak. So lost in thought, she was, she was completely unaware of a drenched soldier creeping up behind her, his gunblade locked on to the back of her head and a furious expression on his face for being launched so far.

He was close. His hand was on the trigger. There was no way she could escape from such a close-range shot. He felt that victory was assured. He began to pull the trigger, ready to take her out… When family intervened.

_*Fwoosh!_*

"YAAAA!"

"Stay the hell away from my baby sister!"

Levy looked up, now out of her revelation induced daze, and turned around, finally noticing her would be attacker, set ablaze by her protective sister. The young woman was surrounded by a trio of soldiers, who were looking at her in horror for what she did to their comrade.

"You freaks get away from me!" Rita all but shouted, the wind picking up around her as she performed three different spells in rapid succession; a rising slab of concrete that launched one soldier in the air, a raging burst of water that blasted another soldier a long distance, and a charge of magnetism to slam the last soldier into the ground, before rushing towards the still slightly dazed medic in worry.

"Lala! Lala, are you ok!?" She exclaimed as soon as she reached her sister, checking her out to see if she was injured in any way.

"I'm fine, Rita. I didn't get hurt…" Levy assured with a soft smile before frowning in confusion once she remembered why she was lost in thought. "Uh… Sister? These bracelets…. Are they…?"

"Gentle Storms? Yup. Took them as payment for keeping my mouth shut about your friends' little operation that's going down right now. Snowpea already explained the gist of it on the way here, didn't she?" Rita confirmed, her hands crossed as she explained how she acquired the weapons her sister was wearing.

"But… These are…"

"He was planning on giving them to you eventually, you know. He knew very well that, despite how tight he was with Buelo, _you_ were the one with the closest bond to him. He understood what needed to be done, and even helped me fixed them up to suit your style." Rita stated as she rubbed her sister's head, "Now you got _both_ of Buelo's signature tools with you, Lala. You got quite the legacy to uphold, little sister, but I know you'll become one of the best field medics out there. Being number one is in our blood, after all…"

Levy looked at her sister in shock, warmth filling up inside her despite the tense situation they were in. She was very happy to have received her grandfather's other signature item, especially since her both Rita and Baltazar worked on them to fit her prowess. She looked at her new gauntlets once more, curious as to what they could do, and was about to ask her sister about them when the Dust researcher suddenly lit her hand ablaze, a deep scowl marring her face.

"Tch. Awake already? You guys are a really tenacious bunch…" Rita scoffed as she and Levy saw the six previously fallen soldiers get back up once more, looking a little worse for wear, but still raring to fight. Despite the numbers, the two sisters knew they could take them on, they were vastly more skilled compared to the grunts. However, during their little fights, they had, unfortunately, forgotten something very important.

Or in this case…some_one_…

"Gya-hah!"

"Hmph. Pathetic…"

"Cody!" Levy cried while Rita cursed, both of them deeply ashamed for forgetting their feline cousin and tried get to him, only to be blocked by the soldiers who all had their gunblades drawn and aimed right at them

"Move a single step, and it's curtains for you, witch. You may be a fast caster, but not as fast as a bullet or laser." The wolf tailed Faunus from earlier growled, ignoring the heated stare from the Rita while Levy simply became more frightened by the turn of events.

Cody, on the other hand, was laying down on his back, panting heavily while nursing a painful blow to his stomach. Charcoal was standing above him, doing its best to look intimidating, knowing full well it wasn't able to handle the large beast of a man before it. The lieutenant, however, continued to look very smug, holding not only his large chainsaw with one hand, but his fallen adversary's rifle/blade as well, showing off his immense strength.

"Gotta admit, kid. You got skill for someone your age." The lieutenant complemented in a slightly mocking tone before tossing the hybrid weapon back to its owner, nearly decapitating him in the process, before continuing. "It's a shame that you're with those humans, though. With your skill, you would've been pretty high up in the chain of command. But then again, it isn't too late. If you forgo them and join us, we'll teach you everything we know. Show you the true way of being accepted in the world. You got the power, kid. Don't waste it."

"I'm not wasting it! And I'm not joining a bunch of murderous psychopaths who kill innocent people and kidnap children just because they think it's 'the right thing to do'!" Cody growled, getting a surprised grunt from his opponent and a gasp from Levy.

"Kidnapping? I assume you're talking about the time we attempted to liberate the Faunus children from Patch Island to join our cause?" The hulking man mused, further infuriating the younger Faunus while both the sisters have various looks of horror and anger. "I'll admit, that was not really one of our best ideas. Children may be more willing to join us, but they're very hard to liberate. Lost a lot of good men because of that mission…"

"Feh, Good riddance if you ask me." Cody sneered as he slowly got up, using his sword to help him stand up and either intentionally or unintentionally drawing his foe's anger at him. "You guys have done some very despicable things for as long as I remember. I used to look up to you guys and thought you were awesome, but you're nothing more than a mere shadow of what the group used to be. So desperate to get attention, you resort to killing civilians, robbing trains, and kidnapping children, _including my little sister_, just to prove a point! So if you think that I'm going to join you monsters after everything you've done, you got another thing coming!"

"…Pity. And I was truly hoping you'd join us. You remind me of someone I used to work with. A mentor, if you will…" The lieutenant said after a moment of silence before raising his chainsaw high above him, ready to take his opponent and the cat out, ignoring the screams of protest from the women his men were aiming their guns at. "I guess this is the end for you, kid. Sorry it had to be this way. I actually liked you a little…even if you were an annoying brat."

"Yeah, he's always been like that. Drove my girlfriend up the wall when we were kids, but he's a good little brother every now and again…" A calm voice echoed, startling the White Fang soldiers and causing the sisters and their young cousin to go wide eye in surprise

'_That voice…_'

"Huh? Who said that? Show yourself, you coward!" The lieutenant growled, keeping his thoughts to himself as the other soldiers looked around frantically out of the corners of their eyes to try and find where the voice came from, while Levy, Rita and Cody had relived smiles on their faces.

"Heh, you're in trouble now." The tired Tiger Faunus chuckled, further infuriating the large beast before him if the visibly grinding teeth were any indication.

"Grrr. You better reveal yourself, whoever you are, otherwise the kid and the women are dead!" The lieutenant ordered, his patience worn thin at the distractions he was dealing with.

"Ok then. You asked for it though…" The voice taunted, this time much closer than the soldiers were expecting, and all of them were surprised when they saw their lieutenant was suddenly in the air from a kick given to him by a young man who literally appeared out of nowhere before him.

"Heh, what took ya, Cuz? Had a mess or something to clean up?" Rita laughed once she saw Baltazar launching the leading soldier in the air, the teen decked out once more in his shadow gear and his glasses still shades despite the fact that it was night time and now sporting a pair of fingerless gloves with metal plates in place of his old battle gauntlets.

"You have no idea how close you are on that one, Rita…" The lightning ninja grumbled slightly before leaping into the air and positioned himself above his target just as he was about to go down, who was too stunned by the previous assault to notice. Along with something else.

'_His voice… Why does it sound so familiar…?_' He thought as a pair of legs suddenly wrapped around his neck and a pair of arms encircled his waist, his confusion becoming even more apparent as soon as he got his captor's scent, despite about to be driven into the road head-first into the pavement. '_And why does his scent smell like a weak mix between the kid and the women? Don't tell me this guy is a-_'

_*Slam!*_

"_Buenas Noches, monstro…_" The ninja muttered darkly after essentially pile-driving his foe, effectively knocking him out for a good while, before jumping off of him and turned to the other soldiers with mild interest. "Hmm… So _that's_ where the stolen weapons went. Better let Kira and Aiuto know about that when I get back. Gale, you're up."

"Mew…"

The soldiers blinked a couple times, slightly confused by what they heard, and look down in front of the girls to see a dark blue, almost black cat looking at them with bored looking green eyes and lazily wagging its tail. They laughed slightly, amused by such a small thing staring at them. The wolf tailed soldier decided to aim his weapon at it, a smirk on its face as it was about to fire, when the little feline arched its back, took a few steps back, and, with a mischievous glint in its eyes, meowed.

Or in this case… roared.

Loudly.

*_**ROOOOOOOOAR**__*_

The soldiers were not expecting such a loud and forceful assault, and were unable to do anything as they were blown away to the center of the road, freeing the girls from their hostage situation, to Cody's relief, and causing their stolen weapons to be scattered around the road, much to Baltazar's satisfaction…and digging a pinky in his war to try and get rid of the ringing in his ear.

"Good job, Gale, but I wish you didn't use your Sonic Roar on them. You know it screws with my hearing…" The ninja muttered before as the dark blue cat sauntered towards him and hopped on his shoulder before turning to his partner with a small smile. "Hey Levy. Mind knocking these guys out while I gather their weapons? I'd make them pass out myself, but I think the police would appreciate it if these guys were collected in one piece, if you know what I mean."

"…Only you, _Primo_," Levy sighed in mock exasperation, used to her cousin's morbid sense of humor, before walking towards the dazed soldiers and pressed a certain spot on each of their necks, knocking them out for the rest of the night, before turning to the unconscious lieutenant with a small frown. "Baltazar… Did you have to use that Falcon Dive technique that Ren taught you at the beginning of the semester? You know that skill could easily kill a normal person."

"Yeah, but we're huntsmen and huntresses in training, while these guys are essentially terrorist soldiers. We're not normal by most means anyways…" Baltazar pointed out with a shrug as he pocketed the weapons in his surprisingly spacious weapons pouch before turning to his brother with a hint of worry. "You ok there, little bro? You looked a little ruffled up before I showed up and essentially pile-drived the big boss over there into the road."

"I'll live… But I'm wondering why you're here in the first place. Didn't you say that you had to help Kira and Aiuto with something important tonight?" Cody questioned as Charcoal stood by him, looking after the weary teen in concern.

"Your bro here's already doing his task, Short-Stack. The weapons these freaks had were stolen by your grandpa's factory, and the giant robot the girls are most likely taking apart of have been taken straight from Boss's work place. How they got them, we don't know, but I'm sure he's gonna find out sooner or later…" Rita stated as she approached the three students, causing a small tickmark of anger to form in the young forger's head at the insult to his height, "Besides, his necklace went off, signifying that Snowpea was most likely in danger somewhere, and there's no way he's going to leave her alone to deal with some psycho in an overgrown battle suit without him watching over just in case she needs help."

"Damn straight," Baltazar confirmed with a small nod and a smirk as he pocketed the last of the firearms before drawing his sword with a frown on his face. "It's a shame that I didn't have a chance to use more of the functions that I've installed in Azula, though. These guys would've been perfect test subjects for it."

"…You're as dark and disturbing as your old man sometimes, you know that?" Rita said while shaking her head as she and the others walked towards the slab of concrete that blocked the path to team RWBY and the Paladin. "C'mon, let's check out how the girls are doing. We'll let the cops handle these chumps."

"Works for me." Baltazar shrugged while Levy nodded with a serious expression on her face and Cody grumbling slightly, still put off by the jab to his stature, among other things, as the slab started to crumble down to nothing thanks to its caster.

"Let's just get down there… I don't want to see any more of these monsters any more than I have to." Cody muttered darkly as he jumped down the highway with Charcoal and Gale following him to make sure he landed safely, ignoring the concerned look from Levy, the exasperated one from Rita, and the pitiable one from his own brother.

"He needs to let go of all that anger and resentment. If he keeps it in for too long, he's gonna break, and with Ruby at Beacon with the rest of us, he's going to have a very hard time putting himself back together without her to pick up the pieces…" He muttered softly, shaking his head slightly at the actions of the young forger.

"Speaking from experience, aren't you." Rita stated in a knowing tone, and Levy stifled a gasp at the thought of the ninja before her having been in a poor state in the past, before the professor continued. "The lieutenant talked about the kidnapping at Patch Island a couple years back. The one that your sister was involved in. Odds are he was a part of the plot. You're lucky he didn't recognize you at the time, otherwise things would've been much worse than they are now."

"…It would've been a good opportunity to get some answers. I'm used to spilling blood, so it wouldn't be much of a problem for me." The ninja said softly, missing Levy look at him in shock and sadness, turning his head towards the unconscious lieutenant briefly before shaking his head. "The girls and my brother's safety take precedence, though. Finding the answers that I'm looking for can wait for now. I'll get them eventually, and I will find the truth behind everything, but until then, I'll do my best to make sure that my team and friends are strong, and my family is safe."

"…Spoken like a true huntsman, Cuz. I think Buelo said something similar too, once upon a time. I guess his blood is flowing just as strongly in you as it does in us," Rita grinned proudly while giving the ninja a gentle pat on the shoulder while Levy had a more relaxed and grateful expression on her face.

"Yeah, and that blood has been giving me more trouble than you think, but in the end, I wouldn't have it any other way." Baltazar confessed with a wry smile, "Now let's get going. We can't let Cody have all the fun, can we?"

"Teehee, no. We can't," Levy giggled, having been mostly silent for the conversation, content with simply listening in on what was being said. She wanted to know more about the incident that essentially caused her favorite cousins to be who they were now, but she could wait. They will tell her eventually. But for now, she is content with helping them and her friends in whatever problem they were dealing with at the moment.

With that, the three of them leapt off the highway, leaving the unconscious soldiers at the mercy of the local law enforcement. However, if the sisters and brothers had bothered to stay just a few moments longer, they would've been able to meet a couple of familiar faces; a tall man with obsidian hair and piercing red eyes and a young woman with blonde pigtails and a Haven Academy uniform, both of them looking at the fallen soldiers with mild interest and disappointment.

"Man, what a bunch of jokers. Couldn't even handle a few noobie teens and a nutso professor…" Caldera sighed while looking at the beaten Faunus.

"To be fair, the arrival of my partner and her relatives was not something these men were expecting, and hence forth, were not fully prepared to take them on." Duke defended on his fallen comrades' behalf before a small smirk appeared on his face as he stared at the lieutenant. "Although I will concede that it is a bit disappointing to see the lieutenant being taken out by a simple trick such as that. It appears that I need to train him a little bit more…"

"Oh he is gonna be in hell once you get your fangs onto him," Caldera snickered as she raised a hand toward the passed out higher up. "I'll take this guy with us to base. You bring back his weapon. No offense to you, Duke, but I do have a bit more experience picking up guys compared to you…in more ways than one."

"None taken, Caldera. Be my guest. It's always a pleasure seeing you in action every now and again," Duke joked lightly with a mock bow, causing his mercenary teammate to giggle slightly at the display, before she focused back on the lieutenant and brought her arm up a little, her hand in a claw-like formation.

As soon as she moved her arm, the unconscious Faunus was suddenly lifted up into the air, his body dangling limp as if he was being pulled by something. With a smirk, the young woman pulled her arm back, causing the body to be carried over to her by whatever mysterious force that was making him move, and with little effort, managed to catch him in her arms. Despite the very easy time she had in getting him to her, she couldn't help but grimace slightly as she continued to hold her as Duke went to grab the oversized chainsaw.

"Geez… The guy needs to lay off a few pounds. Try and shave some off of him while you're training him, ok Duke? Guy's gonna be a pain in the butt to carry back to the chopper…" She grumbled as she tried to position her load over her shoulder so that it would be comfortable for her to carry.

"Be grateful that you're not taking his saw as well," The Bat Faunus sighed as he hoisted the powerful weapon over his shoulder, before turning to the remaining soldiers curiously. "Are you sure it is ok for us to leave these men here? The police will be arriving soon, and they will want a lot of answers for what has transpired today."

"Hey, these guys lost the good weapons that both our partners managed to smuggle out of those tacky weapon factories. They deserve this. Besides, we need scapegoats, and these guys are perfect candidates! I think one of them is even a goat! It's a bonus!" The blonde grinned while patting her 'cargo' on the behind.

"…You make a good point." Duke nodded in agreement before turning around, "In any case, let's head back to the helicopter. Neapolitan must've already brought back Roman from his little escapade and I'd rather not stick around to answer a few questions that don't need to be asked. Although I am a little concerned that these soldiers might tell the police our plans. Even if they are not aware of everything, the things they do know might force us back a few months at least if law enforcement was made aware of any of it."

"Oh relax, Bat-Man, we'll just have Princess Poison take care of them just like the last time! She's been getting bored lately and the experiments she's doing with those boy toys she just got a while back aren't going to keep her busy for long. A little midnight excursion will do her some good," Caldera assured as she began walking down the street in a strutting fashion, something that was quite difficult while carrying a large, unconscious Faunus over her shoulder, but she was managing quite well.

"Fine… We'll let Iris take care of them. Until then, though, it's best that we get back. I need to finish training with my enhanced Dracula, along with that other project I've been working on since you 'acquired' Hiraishin a few months ago." Duke said in a dismissive tone, calmly walking beside the haughty blonde with the chainsaw still over his shoulder like it only weighed a few pounds at most, leaving behind the remaining soldiers to the mercy of the Vale Police Department, when he heard his comrade giggling a little, and couldn't help but turn to her curiously.

"Hehehe… I wonder how badly Torchwick got beaten during his fight with those first year girls. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up busting the Paladin trying to take them out…"

-Lower highway, minutes earlier-

Torchwick let off a soft growl as he tried to search for his targets with his laser sights. The irritating girls had managed to obscure his vision via a shroud of mist created by Weiss and Yang, and was now walking blindly to try and find them. Unfortunately for him, the girls were stealthier and quicker than he thought. He was able to tell that one of the girls, most likely the cat girl, had went past him a few times, but she was going too fast for him and his lasers to pick up. He was able to locate both the blonde and the ice queen though, and began firing at her, but they proved to be quick on her feet, and managed to evade the attack with ease. Now, though, he managed to find both the blonde and cat girl again, and let loose another blast. Unfortunately for him, he missed once again, leaving behind a plume of residual smoke where the attack landed on. Smoke that a certain rose was able to take advantage of.

"HYAAA!"

*_clang!*_

Ruby grinned to herself for a job well done as he landed onto the ground. Her high speed attack did little to no damage to the robot before her, but the force of the blow was able to stagger it, which gave her the perfect opportunity to call out another of her team's combination attacks.

"Checkmate!"

Hearing their leader, Weiss and Blake made their way to the robot and began slashing away at the monstrosity's feet with their respective blades, causing it to further stumble back. During the assault, the heiress made a bit of a leap, leaving her eye level to the 'knee' of the Paladin, and stabbed it, disabling one of the sensor lasers and causing to stagger even further, before leaping out of the way via a platform glyph.

Now annoyed, Torchwick noticed that Blake did not move back after his sensor was taken out, and decided to crush her with his robot's foot. Sadly, he didn't notice her teammate creating another glyph below her friend's feet, and before the criminal could smash his target, she was propelled backwards via the glyph, completely safe from the incoming assault. Growling in frustration, he let loose a flurry of missiles from the robots shoulders, hoping that some of them would be able to take the girls out, but once again, the girl's agility and the use of glyphs proved to be their advantage, and were able to evade the missiles with a series of glyph boosted backflips, before jumping away to avoid the explosions. It was at that moment that the suave criminal noticed that the heiress had jumped a little too high, leaving her wide open, and proceeded to fire another couple of energy blasts at the poor girl.

Seeing the attack and with no way to dodge it, Weiss had no choice but to pull out her rapier before her and take the blows. The attacks were strong, but Myrtenaster was able to absorb the damage. However, the knockback was too great, and Weiss was sent flying away from Blake and was about to fall onto the ground hard. Before she landed, however, she was able to fire a golden beam of light that landed right where her teammate was standing, creating a golden, clockwork styled glyph. She barely had any time to look to see if her support skill had managed to work before landing back on the ground hard.

Blake, knowing that her friend was ok and thankful for her support, allowed the special glyph to power her up, giving her a golden outline that signified her boost in abilities, before vanishing. She stood strong, even as the Paladin moved closer to her and fired off a number of missiles once more, but unlike before, where she was forced to evade them, she decided to go on the offensive. Slashing the air, the cat girl was able to create multiple crescent beams that were able to cut the incoming rockets in half. She continued to cut the air, moving faster and faster until she became only a stationary blur, before stopping with both her katana and cleaver spread out before her, the golden aura now vanishing, and a series of explosions all around her, indicating that she took out all the missiles before they even reached her. Immediately after that, her leader began running right by her, calling out another command that specifically required her help.

"Ladybug!"

With her command made, Ruby propelled herself underneath the giant robot via her sniper scythe, and cut the underside of if before flying briefly in the air and landed quite far from the robot with a skid. She then fired another round from her weapon and launched herself back into the fray, this time with Blake joining in to assist. Together, the pair zoomed back and forth from one another, continuously slashing away at the legs of their target as the traded spots, and were forced to jump when Torchwick had enough and decided to fire another energy blast at Ruby. Fortunately, they had escape, and decided to use the evasion tactic to launch another attack at the unsuspecting criminal. With a shout, the pair dived towards their target and slashed right through its left arm, severing it and causing it to tumble away from its body.

Sirens were blaring inside the Paladin, much to Torchwick's annoyance, and said annoyance skyrocketed when he felt something bashing the top of his robot. That something was Yang, who had jumped onto the back of the robot shortly after Ruby and Blake's assault, and proceeded to punch the behemoth furiously with her fight fist. Grunting a little form the constant attack, the criminal had no other choice but to put his machine into full reverse, smashing it, and Yang, into a multitude of support pillars, before successfully slamming her into one, causing her to stick to said pillar and slowly fall from it. Not a moment later, Torchwick moved away from where he slammed the blonde into and turned around, had his robot's remaining arm form a fist, and let loose a devastating punch on the seemingly unconscious girl, punching her through the pillar and breaking it, while she ended up landing hard into the road.

"Yang!" Blake cried out in worry. Out of all the girls, her partner was the one who took the most damage, and was very concerned for her condition.

"Don't worry!" Ruby assured as Yang slowly began to get up, her hands making a fist and her hair glowing so bright that it was practically white, much to the surprise of Blake. "With each hit she grows stronger, and she uses that energy to fight back! That's what makes her special."

Not noticing the change in the blonde, Torchwick began to think that his victory was assured, and slowly began to approach his target, ready to take it out. He pulled his robot's fist back once more, ready to land the final blow, and fired one more punch. To his utter shock and surprise, Yang had managed to catch the fist with ease, even when the force of the blow had destroyed part of the street that she was standing. He let off another growl, upset that his attack had failed. Yang, however, was now glaring menacingly at the robot with blood-red eyes, and with little effort on her part, shattered the arm of the robot with one single punch, knocking Torchwick back and causing him to stumble. Now desperate, the man closed in on the blonde once more and sent her flying with a well-aimed kick. Unfortunately for him, he kicked her right into her teammates, who were ready with another combination.

"Bumblebee!"

With Ruby's order, Blake tossed the bladed pistol of her Gambol Shroud towards Yang, who managed to safely catch it as she continued to fly, passing by Weiss, who was now getting up from her blow. With a quick tug, the cat girl helped her partner land safely and, using the momentum from the blow coupled with a couple blast from Ember Celica, she propelled the powerhouse right towards the robot, hoping to finish it off. Unfortunately, Torchwick was able to see the attack coming, and was mobile enough to jump away from the raging blonde before she could destroy his Paladin.

"We have to slow it down!" Ruby stated, realizing what they had to do, as Weiss appeared beside her and stared at her questionably.

"And how do you propose we do that?!" The heiress asked in an annoyed tone, wondering how they were supposed to accomplish such a feet. Thankfully, the young leader still had one more collaboration tactic to employ, one that will surely get their desired result.

"Ice Flower!"

Inside the Paladin, Torchwick was gritting his teeth in frustration. He was not going to let the girls get the better of him again. He had to do something to take them out. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side right now. There, standing before him quite the ways away, were Ruby and Weiss, the former mounting her Crescent Rose onto the road and the latter creating a trio of glyphs that were formed in front of the sniper scythe. A second later, the young leader fired, releasing her own energy blast right at the robot, this one traveling much faster and having various small ice beams trailing behind it. The attack struck home, and as an added bonus, the blow created a series of icicles, much to the surprise of the criminal. The girls continued to fire their combined ice rounds, and Torchwick could do nothing as his robot was quickly being enveloped in ice. Now unable to move properly, Yang and Blake decided to follow through with their combo, having maintained their momentum since their failed attempt. In order to ensure their victory, Yang increased her speed once more, to the point where she was practically on fire and leaving behind a trail of flames. It was at this point where she drew her fist back, causing it to actually ignite in flames and, to the surprise of Torchwick, a pair of fire wings formed behind the girl's back. He had no idea what she was doing, but from the look and intensity of the flames, he knew it was going to hurt.

"_TASTE MY SUNRISE STRIKE, YOU FIEND!_" Yang all but screamed, letting out all the pent up energy she was building since her part of the fight, and blasted the Paladin with an explosive punch, causing to break apart like it was nothing more than a glass figure, and launching Torchwick into a nearby pile of robot scrap.

"Tch… Just got this thing clean…" Torchwick muttered as he dusted himself, seemingly unhurt despite all the punishment he and his now late robot had taken throughout the battle, before turning his attention back to the one who had delivered the final blow. She appeared to have powered down a bit, since her fire wings were gone and her fist wasn't covered in flames, but she still looked like she was ready for more if her crimson eyes were any indication. She pulled her fist back and fire a range shot at the defeated man, and would've managed to do some serious damage, if it wasn't for a newcomer that appeared right before the round reached him, taking the attack with a sturdy looking umbrella.

The owner of the umbrella was someone that Blake recognized as the woman that Torchwick was conversing before the whole mess started. She couldn't forget someone who had pink and brown hair, but frowned in confusion when she noticed that she had the same color pattern in her eyes as well. She let off a bit of a scoff of annoyance, knowing that they were most likely forced to deal with another, possibly strong, opponent after she and the rest of her team just finished fighting off a giant robot. It was at this moment, thankfully, that they were fortunate enough to gain help of their own, in the form of team BLAD's leader, medic, the medic's sister and her leader's close friend.

"Rubes! Are you and the others ok!?" Cody asked as he, Levy and Baltazar and Rita landed on the ground, looking a little worse for wear but sporting an angry and tired look in his eyes while Charcoal and Gale, flanked both sides of him.

"A little worse for wear, but noting bad, Cody." Ruby explained, causing Baltazar and Levy to relax slightly, while Cody gave a stiff nod before turning his azure gaze back at the duo of criminals before them. Rita, on the other hand, had her arms crossed and stared at the kingdom-renowned criminal and his accomplice with a critical gaze, wondering what they were going to do next, especially since the man in white sill had a very smug expression on his face despite his loss.

"So the beasts upstairs couldn't do anything against them, eh? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Good help is _so _hard to find these days…" Torchwick mused with a hint of amusement before turning back to the large group, with a smirk. "Ladies… Gentlemen… Pets… Ice Queen…"

"Hey!"

"Always a pleasure!" He finished with a tip of his hat, ignoring the sounds of protest coming from said Ice Queen "Neo, if you would…?"

"Oh no you don't! Sparky, Sunrise Storm now!" Yang exclaimed, her rage building up once more at the thought of her opponents getting away from them, and engulfed her fist in fire once more.

"On it, Flare. At least I get a chance to use my sword this time," Baltazar nodded with a small, sadistic smirk as he drew his blade once more and began charging it with the Electric Dust within the weapon, his eyes glowing bright blue behind his shades.

With a loud battle cry, Yang sprinted over to the criminals with her left fist back and ignited once more, while Baltazar followed close by with his glowing sword by his right side. The sword and gauntlet touched briefly, and in that moment, a bit of their energy was transferred into one another, causing Ember Celica to emit a few electrical sparks while Azula began producing embers, making them much more dangerous and stronger than before. Despite the imminent threat, however, the young woman still had a look of confidence on her face, as if knowing that the attack won't work, and simply moved her umbrella in front of her once more, causing the incoming duo to mentally scoff, thinking the flimsy little thing would be able to stop their technique.

However, their arrogance proved to be their downfall, because once her fist and his blade made contact with the umbrella, not only did it shatter like a broken mirror, but so did its owner and Torchwick, revealing them to be nothing more than an illusion. Annoyed by their failed assault, the two looked around in hopes of finding where the trio disappeared to. They didn't have to wait long, though, because a moment later they heard the sounds of an aircraft taking off, and turned to see the two of them taking off in a bullhead. Knowing that they had no way of going after them, the two began to relax slightly, enough for their eyes to return to normal, and stared at the disappearing aircraft in distain, not looking away even as their friends walked up beside them.

"Looks like he got a new henchman…" Yang grumbled, her fist clenching in annoyance towards the little woman.

"There's always next time, Flare. We'll get our answers eventually, but until then, we just have to be patient…" Baltazar muttered softly to Yang while placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, and was only partially successful in that regard, as he felt that she was still tense. Thankfully, though, someone decided to help out and break the tension among the group. Someone that nobody would expect…

"Yeah, I guess she made our plans…_fall apart_?" Weiss questioned jokingly with a small smile, causing Ruby and Levy to giggle slightly at her poor attempt at a pun, Cody's eyebrow to twitch in annoyance, Blake to turn and walk away, Rita to snort a little at the pathetic attempt at a joke, and Baltazar and Yang to look at her in disappointment.

"No… Just…no…" Yang stated in an unamused tone.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Weiss…" Baltazar shook his head, getting a surprised reaction out of the heiress.

"What?! But she does it!" She exclaimed while gesturing to the still unamused blonde.

"And I bop her in the head with various small objects every time she does. You want me to start doing that to you?" Baltazar pointed out, getting a look that practically screamed 'you better not!' from his girlfriend.

"There's a time and place for jokes…" Yang stated seriously, prompting the others to look at her strangely, rarely ever seeing this side of her before.

"Was this not it?" Weiss questioned, still a little surprised by how serious her teammate was taking this whole thing.

"Nah. It just wasn't very good," Yang explained, ignoring Baltazar facepalming himself in annoyance from her answer, and proceeded to follow her partner back home, where they needed a much deserved rest.

"Well at least I'm trying!" Weiss argued back, only to calm down once she felt a certain someone grab her hand.

"Everyone's a critic, Weiss. Just let it go…" Baltazar muttered, gently tugging her to emphasize that they should leave. Reluctantly, the young heiress complied, and let out a small huff of annoyance towards her picky blonde teammate before accompanying her boyfriend back to Beacon.

"Well _that _was a crap-ton of 'fun', if you can call it that, but I better get home now. I'm late enough as it is and if I don't get back soon, Mom's going to kill me. Catch you later, Rubes!" Cody said as he went the opposite direction to head home, waving goodbye to his best friend as he left.

"Bye, Cody! Talk to you later!" Ruby waved goodbye back, happy to have spent more time with him, before turning towards her friends and began following them while Levy stayed behind for a moment to see her Rita off.

"You get yourself back to Beacon, Lala. I'll make sure Cody gets home safe. There still a chance that there will be some more soldiers prowling around, so I'll take the cats with me and take him to Auntie Leti. I'll meet up with you later to give you more training with your new gauntlets, ok?" Rita questioned with a smile while giving her sister a gentle pat on the head as Charcoal and Gale walked up to either side of her, looking at the Dust Witch expectantly.

"Ok, Rita. I'll see you later. And thank you for the gifts," Levy said with a happy smile while gently rubbing her newly acquired battle gauntlets.

"No problem. Now get back to your friends." Rita grinned while turning her sister around and gave her a playful push towards the rest of the departing students, before giving herself a satisfying nod and began walking away. As she walked, she paused briefly, and turned her head towards the moon, a mix of amusement and annoyance twinkling her eyes briefly, before shaking her head slightly for some reason and continued on to the path, with both Charcoal and Gale either not truly caring or concerned by her odd actions just now. If they did bothered to follow the witch's gaze, though, the would've been greeted by the sight of an Atlesian soldier sitting in the shadows of a nearby highway, his face and lower body obscured by the darkness and looking down at the departing groups with heavy interest.

"Hehehe… I was right. Things _did_ get interesting. I was right to follow them." The man chuckled to himself as he watched the students depart, "Tai's girls, Winter's kid sister, a former White Fang member, one of Master Luis's many granddaughters, and even Bo's oldest boy. Ozpin definitely has his hands full if he has to deal with those kids in a regular basis. Sure the Boss and Qrow have plenty to deal with too, what with them handling the Genius Witch and Ramon's Legacy respectively… But Ozpin even has a few special kids too if my sources are correct; A member of the Arc and Yasur clans, the Mistral Regional Champ, a destructive grenadier and her silent but deadly companion, and…_her_… "

The soldier smiled to himself while shaking his head before removing his goggles, revealing a pair of glowing white eyes that were shining even in the shadows of the night. "I wonder if I could convince the Boss to let me help him out for a while. It'll sure to lighten the load for him a little…and gives me even more opportunities to do what I need to do."

With that, the mysterious soldier vanished in a swirl of wind once more, leaving no trace of his presence anywhere in his spot. He needed to prepare for what he was about to do, and he knew it was going to take time to get it done, but he will accomplish his goal in time, just as team RWBY had done today, despite all that has happened throughout the evening.

Even if the man who practically orchestrated the whole mess had gotten away, they did managed to learn many new details about what they were planning in the future and possibly even put their plan on hold slightly if their actions tonight held any merit. All in all, the 'mission' that the girls gave themselves have been a success; they got the information they needed, took down any obstacle that was in their way, thwarted the bad guy's plan and essentially made him run away from them. All without being too terribly injured. They were more than ready to get to their beds after such a night, but despite everything they've done, everything they've accomplished and learned, there was still one more thing that was in the mind of the young leader of RWBY…

"Hey guys? I just realized something. Where are Sun and Neptune?" Ruby questioned, catching the others' attention.

All of them turned to Ruby, processing what she just asked, before turning to each other curiously, all of them have the same question running in their minds.

'_She's got a point. Where _are_ those two?_'

-With the mentioned pair-

"They're probably fine, right?" Neptune asked after slurping up some of his noodles, his weapon leaning on the stool beside him.

The two friends, after having been launched off the highway by the giant robot, had landed not too far from the local noodle shop, A Simple Wok, which was owned by the shopkeep of the nearby From Dust 'Till Dawn store, and decided to have dinner their while they let their new friends handle the situation.

"…Probably." Sun shrugged, not really all that worried about his friends' situation, before going back to his dinner, his own weapon also leaning beside him on a stool.

Shrugging in satisfaction, Neptune turned his attention back to his meal, content with the knowledge that his new friends were safe and sound, handling whatever situation that they were in with no issues whatsoever.

Probably.

Author's Note

And here you go, guys! I hope you guys enjoyed it! I know I said that his chapter was going to be accompanied with a surprise, but things got a little hectic since I last uploaded and this chapter in particular needed a lot of work done. I promise to reveal the surprise in just a few more days. It shouldn't take me all that long to be honest, but I will need time regardless. Wish me luck!

Now, this story did introduce a couple new characters that will be occurring more often in the future. The odd Atlesian Soldier will be further introduced in the future. Gale, however, I can offer some info about; She is essentially a wind version of Charcoal but with a bit more variety in her skillset. Unlike Charcoal, however, she wasn't raised by Bo. Gale was actually brought up and raised by Baltazar, meaning that the dark blue furball is registered as _his_ pet, and is currently undergoing training to be a TGHA like her father: Charcoal. Because Gale's so young and mischievous, she can be kind of hard to control, but it's slight ability to manipulate air and its signature Sonic Roar is a very strong ability. It is akin to the Ghostly Wail used in Danny Phantom. Despite the trouble she causes, she is a good cat that enjoys lounging around and watching others do something for amusement.

Now then, Chapter 7 of this story will be a bit different compared to the previous ones. The next chapter will be the first of a total of 4 different chapters that will be used in place of full on story arcs like I did with The BLAD of RWBY and JNPR, which I dub 'Character Development Chapters'. While a part of the story itself, these CDCs are stories that you'd expect to find in Life at Beacon, they add more depth to Scattered Symphony, so they will be added in there. In fact, I've been working on one a long time ago, the beginning of the year to be exact, planning on using this very idea to help expand the story. I will be updating this story soon and the surprise I keep hinting at will survive for a few days. Until then, everyone, thank you all so much for reading this and have a nice day.


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